Even Strong Players Blunder

I was watching an online blitz game of two relatively strong players and they came to a position where a familiar pattern seems to have emerged but it turns out that there was no mating pattern at all but they both thought that the checkmate was imminent thus it led to the other player resigning. I will show you the position before the mating pattern was supposedly launched.

The smothered mate is probably one of the rarest to encounter especially among strong players but it does happen considering the time control and the format. Online chess gives us a lot of fun, exciting games and it could be helpful to develop instinct. Perhaps, this is the reason why Black, seeing the very familiar position before him, set out to quickly finish off his opponent.




It was quite an interesting position to look at and it shows that sometimes we all make mistakes and blunders even very strong players. We can miss good moves, make bad moves, or overthink in a position that seems hopeless but in reality is fine and our nerves get the better of us.