Forums

my latest game

Sort:
taylor_chess85

I really feel i am starting to get just a smidge better than my previous three posted games. I even had a winning game going and i botched it up. Please give me some advice. again strength and weaknesses. what do i need to work on the most.

ArtNJ

Well, a lot of stuff, but the easiest to fix is to stop making basic blunders, like your 13th and 33rd moves did.  You probably win the game if you dont do either of those two.

To get better at that, you have to practice tactics.  I always recommend chesstempo.com to people that need to practice tactics.  Make a free membership (dont just do problems without a membership, it wont work out).  Be aware that they start everyone at too  high of a rating for beginners, and you'll probably get your first 5-7 problems wrong before your rating adjusts and it starts giving you problems you can actually do.  

taylor_chess85

Thank you. I use my phone for internet and it isn't that great for that lol. I have to practice the good old fashioned way. Books and playing the books material out over the board. I have John Nunn's learn chess tactics, will that do for now? Also what do you think my strengths, if any, are right now.

ArtNJ

Books are good.  Try Chess Tactics by Lockwood Productions for your phone.  Its free.  Its not chess tempo, but its pretty good and its designed for the phone (ios anyways, not sure if its on Android).  Chesstempo has improved their website to work on phones, and they may even have a beta app at this point, you could check their web site for that.

I cant tell too much from one game.  9. nh4 is a minor violation of the "dont move your pieces twice in the opening" rule.  Just developing another piece would have been better.  9 times out of 10, following the basic rules taught to beginners (such as that one) will help out.  If you dont have a basic book with those kind of principles, I dunno, I know Jeremy Sillman has a good one, just dont remember what its called.  

Indirect

I have a couple of pointers.

1. It'd be better if you wrote down your thoughts in the diagram as for the people analyzing your game to know what you were thinking during the match. 

2. Move 2:  Nc6 isn't a good option. Black could've played 2... d4! and gotten white's iniciative... but this isn't a bad a move as some others...

3. Move 7: You could've played Be2. If Black were to take your d4 pawn after all the exchanges, you will get the b7 pawn with your bishop. Instead, after dxe5 Black could've played Qxd1 Kxd1 Nc6 with a strong iniciative... Likely to be followed by ...Bf5, and  ...0-0-0 while your king is stuck in the center.

4. Move 8: White should've played played 8. Qe2. Instead, you played Be2 and Black could've captured on f3 followed by taking on e5 winning back the pawn. 

5. Move 13:I simply don't know that happened to you there. 

6. Move 21: You kindda threw away your advantage there. Instead checking the king will deprive him from castling. It doesn't really matter in this case because he didn't took his chance to castle, and instead gave you a completely winning position after 21...b5??

8. Move 30: Rc1 was way better than Rd6 as your game shows why. After Rc1 if Rxc6 then Bf8+! wins the rook therefore your bishop is immune. 

9. Move 33: Even though you didn't play Rc1, your opponent was still nice enough you give you another completely winning position, After Rxe7? your're still winning, but now it's going to be way more difficult.

10. Move 34: This is the losing blunder. You were winning almost the entire game despite some not so good moves, and here you pretty much gave away a bishop.

Hope my analysis is helpful(:

P.S. You should first try to analyze the game yourself without computer assistance, or human assistance as so you can see your own mistakes. Only then ask for help or computer assistance. It's essential to become better. 

taylor_chess85

Thank you very much