No one likes to make mistakes, but all chess players, even those belonging to the world's elite, are prone to blundering. How can this problem be eradicated or, at the very least, kept to a minimum? Read this book and find out! Experienced chess player and writer Angus Dunnington takes a look at why the good, the bad and the indifferent all make errors, from small positional misjudgements to simply leaving a queen en prise. Dunnington explores the reasons for oversights and the habits one needs to develop in order to banish these problems. This book is crucial reading for those plagued by chess disasters!

* Offers help to the blunder-prone players

* Explains techniques to avoid errors

* Written by an experienced competitor

English International Master Angus Dunnington is a well-respected and popular personality on the international chess tournament circuit. He is also a successful chess teacher, who has coached many of Britain's top junior players. Earlier works of his include Attacking with 1 d4 and Understanding the Sacrifice.

The chess-board is the world; the pieces are the phenomena of the universe; the rules are what we call the laws of Nature, The player of the other side is hidden from us. We know that his play is always fair, just and patient. But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance.

Thomas H.Huxley (1825-195), British teacher and biologist. Lay Sermons, addresses and Reviews (1870).

We all make mistakes - in life and at the chess board. This book is aimed at intermediate and club players and is designed to point the reader in the right direction - as opposed to the wrong direction - on the subject of blunders. It is impossible to eradicate mistakes completely; even the best players rarely go through a game without committing some kind of error, so it is important to keep things in perspective.

However, by trying to better understand the nature of blunders, by recognising what kind of mistakes we keep making and why we keep making them, our game will improve (and, in turn, our results). Being conscious of this aspect of the game before we sit down is just as important as being up to date with opening theory - perhaps even more so.

Of course learning as much about chess as possible is helpful in itself, and studying any part of the game is sure to both reduce our blunders and increase the likelihood of recognising the opposition's errors, but only if we include the subject of blunders in our home preparation. There's not much point knowing all about pawn chains, for example, if we spoil our demonstration of this with a silly blunder or bad habit. ..

Introduction

List of Content

004 Bibliography

005 Introduction

007 1 Sense of Danger

022 2 Traps & Pitfalls

032 3 Psychology

050 4 The King's Defences

058 5 Checks

065 6 Faulty Plans

076 7 Dangers of Simplification

081 8 Draw

092 9 Endings

097 10 Time Trouble

102 11 Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

113 12 Expect the Unexpected

118 13 Typical Blunders

133 14 Mega-Blunders

138 15 The Twilight Zone