Chess Blunders: 10 Of The Worst By Grandmasters
Blunders. We have all made them. And we all know that horrible feeling that wells up in the pit of the stomach when we realize that we have just made an egregious error. Chess blunders can instantly turn winning positions into excruciating losses.
As unpleasant as chess blunders are, we can take some solace in the fact that they happen to everyone - even the strongest players in the world.
Below we have assembled a list of 10 of the worst chess blunders of all time from grandmasters. The fact that players of their caliber can make such serious mistakes means that you should not be so hard on yourself the next time you blunder!
Chigorin vs. Steinitz, 1892
The first entry on this list is also one of the worst blunders of all, given what was at stake.
It occurred in the World Chess Championship of 1892. The match between Mikhail Chigorin and Wilhelm Steinitz had been close and hard-fought. In the 23rd game of the contest, Chigorin had an objectively winning position with the White pieces. That is, until he committed the mother of all chess blunders via 32. Bb4?? This allowed Steinitz to win with a basic mating pattern. Black to play and checkmate in two moves.
After the simple 32. …Rxh2+, Chigorin resigned. White must play 33. Kg1, after which 33. …Rdg2# is checkmate. With this result, Steinitz retained his World Championship title.
This mating pattern with a pair of rooks on the second rank (or on the seventh rank, if White is the attacker) is well worth remembering. Note that White’s own rook on f1 helps make this pattern work for Black, given that it takes away a potential escape square from the White king.
Related: Learn every mating pattern you need to know with The Checkmate Patterns Manual.
Szabo vs. Reshevsky, 1953
This game took place during the 1953 Candidates Tournament. This event was held to determine the challenger to Mikhail Botvinnik for the World Chess Championship.
Samuel Reshevsky, with the Black pieces, was faced with a difficult postion. Laszlo Szabo had just played 20. Nf6+, whereupon Reshevsky chose to capture the knight via 20. …Bxf6??
However, this capture gave Szabo the possibility of mate in two moves, beginning with 21. Qxg6+. Note that Black cannot capture White’s queen via 21. …fxg6 because the pawn is pinned, thanks to White’s light-squared bishop on d5. White has only two legal moves. If 21. …Bg7, then 22. Qxg7#. If 21. …Kh8, then 22. Bxf6#.
However, the really incredible thing is that Szabo did not see this mating pattern! Instead, he recaptured 21. Bxf6??
White still held an advantage, but missing mate in two is a shocking chess blunder at this level. An incredible double blunder in a game which eventually finished drawn.
Related: Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953, with annotations from David Bronstein.
Petrosian vs. Bronstein, 1956
The Soviet-Armenian chess master Tigran Petrosian is deservedly remembered as one of the most tenacious defenders in the history of the game.
However, in this 1956 encounter against his compatriot David Bronstein, Petrosian made the type of blunder that even beginners would be ashamed of.
Bronstein, with the Black pieces, was faced with a difficult position. His forces were tied up in knots, and Petrosian was on the attack.
In order to keep building the pressure, Petrosian played 36. Ng5?? Strategically, this move makes sense. It brings another piece closer to the vulnerable Black king. It also threatens 37. Ne6, forking Black’s queen and rook.
The problem with this move is that it overlooks the fact that White’s own queen was hanging! Bronstein captured it via 36. …Nxd6, provoking immediate resignation.
Despite this setback for Petrosian, he eventually became the ninth World Chess Champion between 1963 - 1969.
Christiansen vs. Karpov, 1993
Anatoly Karpov needs little introduction. The undisputed World Chess Champion from 1975 - 1985 was infamous for preventing any hint of counterplay. So subtle were his maneuvers that often, his defeated opponents would be unable to pinpoint exactly where they had gone wrong.
But even Karpov could have a bad day. One such instance was in 1993 against the American Larry Christiansen at the Wijk aan Zee tournament.
The most embarrassing part of this chess blunder is how early in the game it occurred. After an equal opening in the Queen’s Indian Defense, Karpov developed his dark-squared bishop with 11. Bd6??
This allowed White to create a simple fork, via 12. Qd1. Black’s knight on h5 and bishop on d6 are attacked simultaneously. There is no way for Black to save both of them.
Seeing that he was losing a piece by force, Karpov resigned.
Related: Anatoly Karpov’s epic rivalry against Garry Kasparov is chronicled in Jan Timman’s book The Longest Game.
Karpov vs. Bareev, 1994
Anatoly Karpov appears on this list again, but this time as the victor. His game against Evgeny Bareev had been equal throughout, until Bareev committed a howling blunder via 35 …Ba7.
It is difficult to discern what Bareev was thinking. What could be the strategic justification for a move like this one?
Regardless, moving the bishop away left Black’s rook on d8 hanging. Not only that, but capturing the rook allowed Karpov to checkmate in one move while capturing it, via 36. Rxd8#.
Note the important role that White’s knight on f5 plays in controlling the g7 and e7 squares. It means that the Black king is unable to escape.
Nielsen vs. Karjakin, 2005
It’s one thing to blunder via a simple tactic. It’s quite another to leave an important piece hanging. But that is precisely what happened to the Russian grandmaster Sergei Karkakin in this 2005 game against Peter Heine Nielsen of Denmark.
The two players had endured a long and difficult struggle, reaching an unbalanced endgame pitting Black’s rook against White’s two minor pieces.
The sheer length of the game may have contributed to Karjakin’s downfall. After White’s 100th move: 100. Nb3, Karjakin replied with 100. …Kg5??
However, Karjakin had missed the fact that his rook was under attack.
Nielsen wasted no time in capturing the rook via 101. Nxa1, whereupon Karjakin had no choice but to resign.
Related: Carlsen vs. Karjakin - World Chess Championship 2016.
Deep Fritz (Computer) vs. Kramnik, 2006
Nowadays, chess computers have far become too formidable for even the world’s strongest human players. But in the early 2000s, games between computers and elite grandmasters still held interest.
One such contest took place in 2006 between Deep Fritz and Vladimir Kramnik. The first game of the match had been drawn. The second game saw Kramnik, with the Black pieces, have the upper hand for much of the game - until he offered a queen trade via 34. …Qe3??
Like many of the chess blunders on this list, this move makes sense from a strategic point of view. If White were to accept the queen trade then Black would be winning due to his queenside pawn majority.
Of course, the problem is that it misses White’s strongest reply - which in this case is a straightforward mate in one: 35. Qh7#.
Deep Fritz immediately punished Kramnik’s shocking oversight. Next time you make a blunder like this one, you can at least be grateful that the eyes of the world are not watching!
Ganguly vs. Madaminov 2023
This game was played in the 2023 World Rapid Chess Championship, an event where players begin with less time on their clocks compared to classical chess. However, Grandmaster Surya Ganguly cannot really blame the faster time controls for this terrible chess blunder.
Early in the game, Ganguly looked to trade off Black’s well-placed knight with 8. Nxe5??. Ganguly must have been expecting Black to recapture via 8. …Qxe5.
This goes to show that chess blindness can affect anyone - even 2500+ rated grandmasters! Ganguly missed one of the most elementary mating patterns of them all: scholar’s mate.
Black delivered checkmate via 8. …Qxf2#. Just like that, the game was over.
Carlsen vs. Ding, 2024
Ding Liren had become the 17th World Chess Champion by triumphing over Ian Nepomniachtchi in April 2023. However, upon capturing the coveted title, Ding suffered a dramatic decline. He openly admitted his struggles with mental health, and his results over the board were far short of the standard that had catapulted him to the World Championship crown.
Ding’s troubles were laid bare in the much-anticipated clash against Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess, 2024. Carlsen was still the #1 ranked player in the world. How would Ding, the current World Chess Champion, fare against his predecessor?
It didn’t take long to find out the answer. The game ended quickly after Ding blundered with 29. …Rb2??
Carlsen paused for a moment, frowned, and then played the queen sacrifice that ended the game: 30. Qxh7+!
The point is that after the forced 30. …Kxh7, White can checkmate via 31. Rh4#.
This is the sort of combination that might be found in an intermediate level tactics book - not one that you would expect the reigning World Chess Champion to fall victim to.
Related: Improve your tactical skills with The Chess Tactics Workbook.
Ding vs. Gukesh, 2024
Ding Liren has the misfortune of appearing on this list twice. Although this chess blunder is not as obvious as the one against Carlsen, the circumstances made it particularly tragic.
The 2024 World Chess Championship was all tied up going into game 14, the final game of the match to be played under classical time controls. If the match were still tied after this game, rapid tiebreaks would decide the winner.
Ding was widely regarded as a strong favorite over his challenger, Gukesh Dommaraju, in the faster time controls. Ding only needed a draw with the White pieces to get there.
The two combatants reached an endgame with Ding down a pawn. Although the game was theoretically a draw, Ding cracked under the pressure with 55. …Rf2??
This enabled Gukesh to force trades into a winning pawn endgame via 55. …Rxf2, 56. Kxf2 Bd5, 57. Bxd5 Kxd5. The location of Ding’s bishop in the corner on a8 was particularly unfortunate, as it meant he could not avoid the bishop trade.
This position is winning for Black. Shortly thereafter, Ding resigned. With it, Gukesh became the 18th World Chess Champion.