Blunder (chess)

In chess, a blunder is a very bad move. It is usually caused by some tactical oversight, whether from time trouble, overconfidence or carelessness. While a blunder may seem like a stroke of luck for the opposing player, some chess players give their opponent plenty of opportunities to blunder.

What qualifies as a "blunder" rather than a normal mistake is somewhat subjective. A weak move from a novice player might be explained by the player's lack of skill, while the same move from a master might be called a blunder. In chess annotation, blunders are typically marked with a double question mark, "??", after the move.

Especially among amateur and novice players, blunders often occur because of a faulty thought process where they do not consider the opponent's forcing moves. In particular, checks, captures, and threats need to be considered at each move. Neglecting these possibilities leaves a player vulnerable to simple tactical errors.

One technique formerly recommended to avoid blunders was to write down the planned move on the scoresheet, then take one last look before making it. This practice was not uncommon even at the grandmaster level. However, in 2005 the International Chess Federation (FIDE) banned it, instead requiring that the move be made before being written down. The US Chess Federation also implemented this rule, effective as of January 1, 2007 (a change to rule 15A), although it is not universally enforced.

Strong players, even grandmasters, occasionally make elementary blunders.

This position is from game 23 of the 1892 World Championship in Havana, Cuba. Chigorin is a piece up (Steinitz lost a knight for a pawn earlier in the game), but his bishop is forced to stay on d6 to protect both the rook on e7 and the pawn on h2. If he won, Chigorin would have tied the match and sent it to a tiebreaker game. After 31...Rcd2, he played 32.Bb4??. Steinitz replied 32...Rxh2+ and Chigorin immediately resigned (in light of 33.Kg1 Rdg2#), losing the match.

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