This is my first game on chess.com and I lost miserably...

 I think it was mainly due to a number of particularly foolish mistakes, including unnecessary sacrifices and a general lack of pawns.

Essentially any comments/criticisms or advice to help me improve my game would be invaluable.

 Could black ever have dragged it back?

Thanks 

 

Hey there.

 

Just a few things I noticed...

 

Check the move list and if you didn't write it, I did.

 

I didn't mention that at the end of the game you were basically playing with one rook, as both of your bishops were behind a wall of pawns. Best advice is to keep your pieces in active positions and, usually, over extended pawns can be exploited

 

Valiant effort! Good gaming.

2. ... e6, this pawn gets in the way of your bishop entering the game.

 

3. ... Nc6. The knight gets in the way of your pawn. If you play 3. ... c5 you attack your opponents central pawns.

 

7. ... g5 exposes your kingside. Advancing pawns always creates weaknesses.

 

Notice how white's rook and bishop come alive when white plays 13. exf6. Black could have played 12. ... f5 to lock the pawns.

 

Starting at move 53 your opponent must find a way to promote a pawn in order to win. Your job is to get all the pawns off the board.

 

59. ... Kd6. You could go after the pawn directly with 59. ... Kb6, capture the pawn and stop the other one with your bishop.

 

67. ... Bf3, I think you already see the problem with this move. The bishop needs to keep a watchful eye on the next square the pawn can go to.

 

I think the game can still be saved on move 68 with 68. ... Bd1 where the bishop can still get to c3 or h5, which ever is needed.

Wow - thanks for all the feedback - I see how I blocked myself in early in the game. Should I have tried to demolish his pawns at an earlier point in the game?

I wonder