Blundering

Before you make a move, see what it can do

After every move analyze checks, captures, and attacks

Back when I used to play in over-the-board, face-to-face chess tournaments, I had a "system" for minimizing blunders.

I found that I often made blunders but usually spotted them immediately, as soon as I had moved the piece and sat back. I felt that the reason I spotted the mistake right after making it was that the change of perspective, that moment of relaxation after actually making the move, allowed me to look at the position with fresh eyes and spot the error immediately.

So I came up with a plan!

After I had decided on my move but before I actually made it on the board, I would compose a little mental "video" of me reaching forward, picking up the piece and making the chosen move, then pressing the clock and sitting back in my chair. All just in my imagination, of course... just a little fantasy sequence. I hadn't yet done anything but DECIDE on my move.

But I found that by doing this I could "simulate" that moment of relaxation in which your perspective shifts, and this change of viewpoint would often enable me to spot that blunder BEFORE I actually touched the piece in real life.