Making steady progress in chess is something every chess player aims for through his whole career no matter what level he is. It is always nice to be improving one’s own weaknesses and therefore become stronger. For advanced players this task is still difficult, but at least they have an idea of what they should be doing.

Chess is tactics. More than one strong player has said some variation of this truth. What does that mean? In simple words, it means that if you are not careful you will lose a pawn or a piece. How do you become careful then? It all starts with board awareness. At all times you should know what is happening on the board. Where the pieces are, how they interact with each other. This awareness should be “on” at all times – don’t “forget” a piece or a pawn just because you’re calculating a sequence of moves on the other side of the board.

Mistakes can happen at all levels, from beginners to strong Grandmasters. Even recently we have witnessed a few unexplainable moments from top Grandmasters in the prestigious Sinquefield Cup that’s taking place in Saint Louis. Knowing that mistakes can happen even at the highest level might come as a relief for the rest of us, but it is nevertheless something we’d like to avoid as much as possible. Blunders are usually unexplainable; it feels as if our brain suddenly stops cooperating. However, there are a few things you could try to do in order to minimize such moments. Here are a few tips.