Coach's Corner #3

It’s time once again to take a critical look at recent Junior Joust games. We do this because we need to understand what we are doing wrong so that we won’t make those mistakes again. As I have said before, normally the Jousters don’t have a record of their games. But, because of the excellent resources provided by the TCC, we can capture the game scores with the electronic DGT boards.

Today’s games are from the 2022 Spring #3 regular Junior Joust held on May 14, 2022. It was a G/15 4-round Swiss with six players. So, 12 games. Below you can see my thoughts on each game. There was some good chess played but there was also a great deal of room for improvement. In all, I found 19 critical blunders in the 12 games.

The question on my mind is: were there any patterns to the errors made? Is there a particular tactic that is repeatedly overlooked?

What I found was that fifteen of the nineteen blunders were of the one-move variety. This included hanging a piece outright, missing a mate in one, missing a killer pin or X-Ray, missing a tactic based on a weak back rank, or missing a discovered attack which is admittedly trickier to see. But, what is striking is that the bulk of the game-losing errors could have been avoided if the player had seen only one move out! One move!

To me this speaks to the players thinking routine. In other words, the thought process a player goes through before they actually make their move. If this process is flawed, then game-losing errors will creep in. An, example is missing a mate in one. One thing a player must do before they move is scan the board for one move mate threats against you. You must confirm that the move you want to make doesn’t leave you vulnerable to getting mated in one move.

The same goes for checking for hanging pieces. You scan the board and make sure any piece that is not protected is also not attacked. You consider all captures and checks. And, you must ask yourself: If I play this move, what will my opponent do? It is also a good idea to look at several possible responses your opponent might have.

Honing your thinking routine and making sure you follow it before each and every move will pay great dividends. Literally sitting on your hands to prevent you from reaching out and making a rash blunder will also pay dividends. Use your clock wisely and make sure you are looking at what your opponent can and might do in response to your planned move.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy the annotated games below.

Chris Roberts