Help me improve!

Although this game is a lost I must say that it was my best game I have ever played! I do need alot of help though. I need to improve my chess game so please help! Be harsh if you want just make sure it is genuine critisim. I just want to know my problems already so I can learn and improve.

Some quick comments:

I think your opening was pretty good. The main problems stem from the fact that you started a pawn attack with 9.g4 while your king wasn't safe yet. Starting that attack pretty much means you need to castle queenside (kingside isn't safe), so why not do that first?

But things go favourably for you, luckily opponent only noticed Nc7+ after he already lost a bishop on g5. (Actually Houdini now tells me that he should have played 13...Qxg5, says 14.Nc7+ Kf8 15.Nxa8 Nd4 is good for black -- I should put that on a board and figure out why).

Then there is a critical position after 15...Nd4. Your choice to play Rc1 to protect c2 means you can't castle anymore, and your king looks pretty open. With his 16...f5 he already threatens ...Qh4+ winning the bishop on h5, you had to play 17.h4 to prevent that.

After 25...Ra2 I would have taken the piece with 26.Bxd8 Rxb2+ 27.Ke3 Rxh2 28.Bxb6. A bishop should be worth more than two pawns.

30.f6 getting a defended passed pawn would have been much better than 30.Ke4.

Your homework is to find a few alternative moves for 16.Rc1.

I agree with paulglottlieb (spelled it right?), I see a draw from the last move. He may have a passer on the f-file, but you have a decent enough pawn majority on the queenside to be a threat that cannot be ignored. Especially after d4-c4-b4. Pawns in endgame, I think, are happiest when next to each other. Think of Roman legions and Spartans, testudos, etc - you'll get the gist. And Black's passer needs considerable effort to get through, while dealing with your g-pawn...so you've got a better chance of winning, i'd say. Lose the g-pawn, take care of the black f- and e-pawns, and you can waltz right in.

Also, from 9.g4, I'd like to suggest 10. Qe3, 11.O-O-O, 12.h4...looks frightening, and pieces are all there to help - rooks, queens and bishops.

Thanks for pointing out all the mistakes that I made. You all made it very clear and understandable for me. When I saw that dark diagnol open up for the queen I should of play h4 to stop it from coming. The reason the game ended there was because the timer ended after a grueling 90 minutes. Sadly we didnt get to finish the game.