White to move in the above position. I just wanted to share my erroneous thought pattern.
I can see that b4 is attacked by the b1 Rook if I clear the b3 Bishop. I also see that the b3 Bishop is able to give check. A move earlier I realize then that black cannot capture the b4 pawn with the Queen.
Somehow in my convoluted mind this gets twisted into thinking I can capture b4 with my Queen and when recapture Qxb4 I will win the Queen with Bxf7+ .... Rxb4. Failing to realize that I'm in fact giving up a Queen and a Bishop in order to capture only my opponent's Queen. This type of error is one that often finds me on the down side of the tactical equation and I've given up several points from solid "positions" due to tactical blunders like this.
Elimination of them is not so easy as recognizing a pattern of behavior though.
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As diagrammed with Steve Eddin's Chess Diagram from FEN script.
1 comment:
These counting errors are my bane, and there aren't any good problem sets for them (as I bemoan here). Heisman says:
I see this type of mistake more often than all the others combined.
He also says:
Most beginner books bypass counting and jump right into single motif
tactics: pins, double attacks, removal of the guard, etc. Yet most
players under 1400 are very susceptible to making counting errors thatcost them games. These errors may be due to the fact that they misunderstand the value of the pieces, or just miscalculate.
The thing that frustrates me is that these problems are so frequent in actual games, but there exists no problem set to address it. It would be a great problem set, as it would force you to work through variations in your head, and give skills that would be very useful over the board. Luckily, many problems in Chess Tactics for Beginners implicitly include counting problems.
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