---
title: "The blunder check: free chess lesson · Chess Goat"
description: "A ten-second habit that stops you hanging pieces: checks, captures, threats. 8-minute lesson with puzzles at your level. Free."
canonical: "https://trychessgoat.com/learn/lesson/blunder-check/"
last_updated: 2026-10-09
---

Level 1 · Stop giving things away · 400–800 · 8 min · free

# The blunder check

A ten-second habit that stops you hanging pieces: checks, captures, threats.

## The rule to take into your games

**Before every move: checks, captures and threats, for both sides.**

## The lesson

1.  The **blunder check**: before each move, look for checks, captures and threats, theirs and yours. Here h6 threatens your bishop.
2.  Next, test your own move as if it were played. Nxe5 grabs a pawn, but the d6 pawn takes back.
3.  If a move fails the test, find one that passes. Nd5 is safe: nothing can take it, and nothing of yours hangs.

## Try it: 3 examples

In the lesson you play these on the board. Think first, then open the answer.

1.  White's queen just went to h5. Your move?Show the answer
    
    The knight on f6 attacks h5. White skipped the blunder check and the queen is simply gone.
    
2.  Your queen is attacked. Where does it go?Show the answer
    
    Qxg4 saves the queen and wins the unguarded bishop in one move.
    
3.  The knight on b4 looks free. Is it?Show the answer
    
    Bxb4 walks into Qxh2#. Their threat comes first: g3 blocks the bishop and hits the queen. f4 also cuts the bishop off.
    

[Start this lesson, free →](https://trychessgoat.com/learn/#/lesson/blunder-check)

Not sure this is your leak? Your free [Goat Card](https://trychessgoat.com/u/) reads your chess.com games and puts the lessons that fix your biggest mistakes first. Next lesson: [Is it really safe? Counting attackers and defenders](https://trychessgoat.com/learn/lesson/count-defenders/).