Always Expect the Unexpected

Have you noticed that a bad move will frequently be answered with another bad move, foregoing the chance to take advantage of the mistake? Is that due to a gentlemanly gesture, or are there other mechanisms at work?

As for me, there's no gallantry involved when this happens. Just as most of my peers, I handle surprises poorly. We fail to accept that an unexpected move wrecks our plan, and we must now make a new one (on the bright side, if the unexpected move is bad, your new plan will yield better than the old). Instead, we just carry on as if nothing happened, which most often leads to disaster. This game has several examples of mishandling surprises, both by me and my opponent.

 Me - N.N. (Swedish League, 2025)
English Opening

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. e3 O-O 6. Nge2 a6 7. O-O d6 

 

 So far, both players have made sensible moves. White now has a number of good moves: d3, d4, a3, b3 or h3 are the popular choices.

8. Nd5 Not really a mistake, but premature, as it can be punished right away with Nxd5.
Bg4 Black sticks to the plan. 
9. Nxf6+ A waste of time. h3 or b3 were still good options 
Qxf6 10. Kh1  

In just a few moves, White's position has gone from better to worse. White is behind in development, and the Knight is pinned.

10... Rab8 11. f3 Be6 12. Qc2 The first mistake. Why not play b3? When a move is rejected (in this case 8.b3 and 9.b3), it somehow disappears from the radar. Now Black can gain a strong initiative by 10...b5 11.cxb5 Nb4, but gives that away by 
Nb4 13. Qc3 (this would not work with the c-pawn gone) 
Rfd8 The first real blunder. b5 was still the move to play. 
14. d4 Finally! White has been aching to play this for a long time. 
b5 The best move, but now it's too late. 

White has a winning position - the Bishop is hanging. Instead of the capture, 15.d4 would be even better. I pondered that for a long time (too long, as it turned out), but wasn't able to calculate the consequences. So, I took the safe route, which is nearly as good. 

15. dxc5 dxc5 16. f4 Wins the award for "Worst blunder of the game". I had the perfectly good 16.b3 bxc4 17.f4 in the back of my mind, but for the fourth and last time in this game, b3 slipped away. 
Bxc4 17. fxe5

Now Black could secure the win with 17...Qb6. That's not an easy move to find, and neither of us had any thoughts in that direction during the game. It follows 18.Bf3 Rd3 19.Qe1 Nc2 and the Rook falls.

 Qe7 This is second best, but allows White to restore equality with 18.Nf4 Bxf1 19.Bf1. However, there's still time to blunder!
18. a3 18... Rd3 Black could have finished it off with 18... Bxe2, but fatigue and time pressure is taking its toll on both players.
19. Qxc4 bxc4 20. axb4 cxb4 21. Nd4 Rb6

White has three pieces for the Queen and two pawns, There are survival chances after 22.Bd5, but with no strength left, I found a much weaker move.

22. Be4 Qxe5 A winning move. The rest of the game contains some more mistakes, but the win was never at risk from this point.
23. Bxd3 cxd3 24. Rf5 Qe4+ 25. Kg1 g6 26. Rfa5 Qb7 27. Nb3 Rf6 28. Nc5 Qf3 29. Bd2 Qf2+ 30. Kh1 Qxd2 31. Ne4 Qxb2 32. Nxf6+ Qxf6 33. Rxa6 Qf3+ 34. Kg1 Qxe3+ 35. Kf1 Qe2+ 36. Kg1 d2 37. Ra8+ Kg7 38. Rd8 Qe1+ 0-1 

Takeaway

The mistakes we make in response to a mistake by the opponent can be avoided by accepting that the position after an unexpected move is new to you. It didn't appear in any of your plans, so you'll just have to scrap them and start over.

When to make a Change of Plans

 

Do you remember the Kodak Company? They were once the world leaders i photographic film, with strong brands like Kodachrome and Ektachrome. So what happened to them? They got completely overrun by digital photography, and eventually went bankrupt in 1983. You might think that the new technology took them by surprise, giving them no time to reform their business, but that's not the case. In fact, Kodak made the very first digital camera in 1975 (as shown above). They also hade some success in providing sensors to digital camera manufacturers, so why did they fail?

Even though Kodak knew perfectly well that digital photography would soon make film obsolete, and they were well advanced in digital technology, they could not bring themselves to abandoning film. It had always been at the core of their business, and they felt that they had invested too much in it to just let it go.

This scenario is common in chess too - you have built a great plan only to discover later that it doesn't work. Theoretically, the solution is simple: just ditch that failing plan and make a new one. However, in reality, it's not that simple. Having invested precious time and energy, it's tempting to try to save at least some parts of your plant. Don't to that, just remember Kodak, and make a brand now plan.

It might help to see a plan as a vehicle to take you a bit further down the road. Once you get there (even if the position isn't what you hoped for), it's time to make a new plan and forget about the old one.