The Science Behind Blunder Checking (And the Cat You Keep Killing in Chess)

Preventing Blunders in Chess: http://chessable.com/blundercheck 🔵 My Chessable Courses: https://chessable.com/drcan ♟️ Find me on Chess.com: DrCanChess ♟️ Find me on Lichess: cantosh 🏆 2022 Chessable Community Author of the Year! https://www.chessable.com/blog/announ... 🏆 2023 Chessable Best Tactics Course of the Year! https://www.chessable.com/fundamental... 🏆 2024 Chessable Author of the Year! https://www.chessable.com/blog/annouc... Connect on https://bsky.app/profile/drcanchess.b... Connect on   / drcanchess   Go Chessable Pro using this link to support the channel: https://chessable.com/drcanpro 00:00 Position 1 06:04 Position 2 08:28 Position 3 14:33 Homework In this video, I draw an unusual but meaningful connection between Schrödinger’s cat and how we calculate in chess. A move can be both brilliant and a blunder—until we calculate properly and observe the outcome. Just like the cat in the box, a move remains in a state of uncertainty until we apply a rigorous blunder check process. I’ll guide you through several positions where tactical danger hides behind loose pieces, alignments, and tempting ideas. The lesson: a move that looks good may still collapse under pressure if you don't test it like a scientist. I believe the blunder check process is the closest thing chess has to the scientific method. In this lesson, I’ll show you how to falsify your own ideas, resist confirmation bias, and think for both sides before you play a move. This video is part of my broader effort to help players develop real calculation habits and escape the wishful thinking trap. If you want to avoid tragic oversights and become more precise in your thinking, I hope this lesson gives you the mental framework to start doing just that. And please—don’t kill your cat. 🐾