Chess Patterns ❯ Body And Mind ❯ Stuck in the Past

Stuck in the Past

When your opponent fixates on previous mistakes, they often lose sight of the present opportunities and threats on the board. This mental trap can lead to a cascade of poor decisions as they either try to overcompensate for their earlier errors or become overly cautious, missing chances to improve their position.

If your opponent seems Stuck in the Past, you should: (1) Maintain focus on the current position, (2) Stay alert for any blunders they might make due to their preoccupation with the past. When you are Stuck in the Past, you should: (1) Take a deep breath and evaluate the board objectively, (2) Remind yourself that chess is a series of independent decisions, (3) Learn from the mistakes, but save deeper analysis for after the game.

Designed with Love in Italy

These chess icons are our indie studio's tribute to chess lovers around the world. A way of making chess more visual and fun. You can use the icons for free in publicly accessible content, simply by crediting us (see our Licensing Policy). Each icon is paired with examples and numbered insights to help you pick up ideas quickly and talk about chess with confidence. You can get the cards here.

View full details

Know What to Do When Stuck in the Past

When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on situations in which players are Stuck in the Past. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this type of situation.

Can't Stop Losing? Watch This
In this excellent video Kamryn YouTube channel not only does a wonderful job explaining how chess tilt works, but also she details exactly how to recover from it. Highly recommended for beginners and intermediates.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE
The psychology of double blunders
This is a nice excerpt from an interview with Magnus Carlsen. He explains clearly how hard it is, even for World Champions, to get back to a focused mindset after realizing that you just missed a decisive opportunity.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE
How To Improve Your Chess Psychology
Have a look at this highly-requested video by GothamChess on Chess Psychology. Among other things, Levy presents one of his games as an example of how you can go wrong by remaining too much inside your emotions.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance*
There's a powerful personal anecdote in Josh Waitzkin's excellent book that's worth the price of the book alone. It tells of a woman who gets into a serious accident because she loses awareness while fixating on a recent event. This book is a must-buy for any chess player willing to focus on the right things.

GET IT ON AMAZON
Chess Improvement: It's all in the mindset*
This is a very interesting book by Barry Hymer & Peter Wells, focused on what happens in the minds of players. It's very helpful in developing the right mental approach before, during, and after games. Recommended for intermediates and experts.

GET IT ON AMAZON