# What are the most-facepalmish errors that an elite chess player has ever made in a real tournament?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-facepalmish-errors-that-an-elite-chess-player-has-ever-made-in-a-real-tournament/983503>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Tags:** chess\
**Created:** [May 3, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-facepalmish-errors-that-an-elite-chess-player-has-ever-made-in-a-real-tournament/983503 "2023-05-03T15:17:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-facepalmish-errors-that-an-elite-chess-player-has-ever-made-in-a-real-tournament/983503/1 "2023-05-03T15:17:53Z")

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Even professional NFL, NBA, soccer players, etc. sometimes make absolute facepalming errors in a game (example: Kirk Cousins taking a knee deep in Eagles territory at the end of the first half when he was supposed to spike the ball, the Vikings player who picked up a fumble and ran the wrong way, etc.).

I was wondering if there are any equivalents in chess. Has there, for instance, ever been a grandmaster or even just an elite pro in chess who did something like leaving their queen blatantly vulnerable to capture (in a way that wasn’t part of some hidden stratagem,) etc.?

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-facepalmish-errors-that-an-elite-chess-player-has-ever-made-in-a-real-tournament/983503/2 "2023-05-03T21:09:21Z")

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[1893, Steinitz vs. Chigorin.](https://rafaelleitao.com/top-5-blunders-chess-history/#:~:text=1%2D%20Steinitz%20x%20Chigorin&text=In%201889%20Steinitz's%20won%20easily,most%20dramatic%20blunder%20chess%20history.)

I am a total amateur when it comes to chess, but even I could tell from the diagram that White moving its bishop in that situation was a particularly dumbass move, especially in the 23rd game of a match.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-facepalmish-errors-that-an-elite-chess-player-has-ever-made-in-a-real-tournament/983503/3 "2023-05-03T21:16:16Z")

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There was a case a decade or so ago where a human playing a computer managed to completely overlook a mate-in-one position. I’m not sure I remember enough details to be able to find it, though.

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**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-facepalmish-errors-that-an-elite-chess-player-has-ever-made-in-a-real-tournament/983503/4 "2023-05-03T21:28:18Z")

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I saw a video of a high-level game a while back in which Magnus Carlsen moved his rook to an unprotected square where it could be captured by a bishop. It wasn’t a sacrifice or a positional gambit – he just plain forgot about the bishop. He fought on for a few moves but soon resigned.

Found it! [There's a Bishop There?? - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_bFzW0HgvA)

These guys play thousands of games a year. They’re bound to screw up every once in a while.

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**Author:** ![Petek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/petek/32/1590_2.png) [@Petek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petek)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-facepalmish-errors-that-an-elite-chess-player-has-ever-made-in-a-real-tournament/983503/5 "2023-05-03T21:43:21Z")

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@Chronos You’re probably thinking of game 2 in the Deep Fritz v, Kramnik match:  
[Blunder (chess) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blunder_(chess)#Deep_Fritz_vs._Vladimir_Kramnik)