OTB Game Analysis and playing technique advice

Hello everyone.

I've submitted this game in FICS learning ladder, but it has been several months past their expected response time, so I'd try my luck here.

This was a game where I played White OTB in a Town Hall against one of the town's best chess players, commented on by myself. The comments included were the thoughts I had during the course of the game. The game wasn't as spectacular as I myself didn't find any brilliant winning moves during the game. In fact, I won only because my opponent made a very serious blunder after 48 moves.

I'd like to see the opinions of fellow chess.com players on how I could improve my playing style or technique. My serious study in chess began only 9 months ago, doubling my rating from 800 too 1600 (in FICS), and I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to learn from other players. I'd also be running for a FIDE title sooner or later, so any advice from strong players would definitely be appreciated!

Thank you!

You should use insert board so that people like me for instance could enjoy the analysis. Looking at your post, it's crumsy.

You only adorn 36.g5?? as a bad move for white. Do you see any other point in the game where you could have played better ?

And how do you assess the position before Black blunders by Rd1??

Thank you, Da-Novelty, I completely forgot that I could use the board for better illustration. Edited as suggested 

hicetnunc, I went through the game just now once more before posting this and after inserting the board. 9. O-O?! deserves this notation, since I ignored the 9. ...Nd4! threat. 36. g5?? also is a bad move since it is a wasted move. Other bad moves were also commented on but without the annotation. I must have overlooked some moves which are definitely bad but I thought were normal moves, also, since I'm not yet a high-rated player.

Then, before the blunder made by black, from a material point of view, black is winning, being a pawn and a piece up, and having two passed pawns. However, white has a passed pawn, and white can simply support it with a rook, but again this may still be in favor of black since the black's bishop is guarding the promotion square and black has two rooks for my two rooks and a king nearby, making white's passed pawn a weakness instead. Positionally, white has a backward pawn blocking black's passed pawn. Black can simply attack it somehow and get a new Queen. Also, the white king is blocking another passed pawn...black can simply drive the king away with the rooks or by pushing the other unblocked passed pawn after supporting the bishop...and black again gets a new Queen (or a third rook, haha). Black must be winning before Rd1. 

So, can you find a convincing winning sequence for black, starting at move 48 ?

@pfren,

I was trying to improve the OP's analysis skills rather than getting a definite answer to my question

I'll try to see:

The only forcing sequence is 48. ...Rg3+ 49. Kf3 Rh2+ 50. Kf1, any other move from black leads to a checkmate through the Rxf6 threat, for example after the sideline beginning with the defensive move 48. ...Rg6 49. Rxf6+ Rxf6 50. d=Q#. However after the mainline 50. Kf1 move, it might be difficult for black (at least from my point of view) to continue and force a win even with the white king fenced to the first rank, since there is the Rxf6+ threat. 50. ...Bd8 in an attemp to block the pawn simply loses the bishop after 51. Re8+... so after 50. ...Kf7, then after 51. d=Q+ Kxe6 52. Qb6# is mate. Perhaps I was wrong in saying that black is winning after Rd1. I'm not sure though, there might be a better line, but thanks hicetnunc, your comments help me analyze this game even further. 

Thank you, pfren, I overlooked the Ke7 move after Rxf6+, so it wasn't mate in three.

I was wondering why you had to quote the "simply loses the bishop" part until I saw your post where you mentioned the same move as a possible win. I wasn't able to read your post until I finished typing and finalizing my long reply in #8. I apologize if this offended you in any way.

From my game, though, how could I improve my playing techniques? I had basically plateaued at ~1600 and it looks like I'm stuck.

@bernardo : you do not comment on black's 24...c5, though it seems like Black had at least one much more active and forcing way to play at this stage, don't you think ?

@hicetnunc: hmmm, I'm not sure on what active move you are referring to, but let me try:

24. ...cxd5, forcing exd5, and black has domination over the center.

24. ...Rh4, attacking the g4 pawn since there is no way to defend it now, and also threatening 25. ...Rdh8, doubling the rooks. If after 24. ...Rh4 25. cxd6, white would be giving his center, and this new passed pawn doesn't seem to be promising. But after 25. ...Rxg4, it could be attacked somehow after a few moves.

24. ...Bh4 doesn't achieve anything, and g5 only blocks the diagonal for the bishop.

So, 24. ...cxd5 looks to be the most promising. Am I right?

Yes, you can combine these ideas and 24...cxd5 25.exd5 Rh4 looks pretty good for Black... He is a pawn up (soon 2 pawns up as g4 is falling). His rooks will become very active on the h and g-file. He has a couple of passers to boot... I wouldn't like to be white here. I wonder which of the previous moves landed white in this situation...

Thank you, hicetnunc. I agree, unfortunately I was indeed white in this game, and I was asking the same question while performing an analysis just after your #12 comment.

I think it was downhill for white after 9. O-O when I ignored black's threat of Nd4...but going further back, 5. d4 looks better than 5. d3, as this would increase the pressure on the c6 knight and the precarious position after 9. O-O in the game would have been avoided. Perhaps the difficulty for me is still in the details of the openings. Was I right in identifying the faults at 5. d3 and 9 O-O?

Yes, I know you were white. Well, 9.0-0 is probably an inaccuracy, but the situation after 16...Ne6 doesn't look as bad for you as it is after 24...cxd5 in the above variation. So I think you have to look for mistakes between those two moves.

I know analysis is hard, but it will help you much more in the long run...

Alright, thank you for pointing that out. At least the number of moves I have to inspect more closely has been greatly reduced now. I'd post updates.

Yes, I agree, it's a nice way to exercise one's chess understanding...perhaps it would help me qualify for a title someday, too.

19. Bxe6+ looks dubious, since a bishop is more powerful than a knight in the endgame. Also, the threat the knight poses on f3 wasn't really dangerous, and moving the king to protect it somehow doesn't seem to be leading to a loss of material as I have previously indicated. I'd have to take a closer look, still, though.

Thank you.

Also, your play and comments look a bit like you're a Silman disciple. Is my guess correct ?!

Silman? I've heard and read the name before...a few seconds in google just now tells me that Jeremy Silman appears to be an IM chess coach. Does that mean I play like an IM already? (Kidding) 

No, I haven't seen/read/listened to any of his works or lessons, if this is what you meant. It's interesting, though; maybe I'd have a look at his work. May I know what made you say so?

I was mistaken. Don't worry. So back to your game. At 17.f3, you comment "blocking his f pawn". But why exactly block this pawn ?

Alright. 

hmm, well, I thought that if black pushes f3 somewhere in the near future, then I'd have a backward pawn on f2 and an isolated pawn on g4. In addition to that, I'd have a rather difficult time defending the g4 pawn since the ranks would be closed by the f2 pawn and king. Black has a pawn majority in the king-side, and the situation I just described now after black's f3 doesn't look pleasant for white.

Well, I must say I was very surprised by 17.f3 My feeling is that if black plays ...f3 I'd rather be happy : first because he hasn't finished his development yet, so pushing pawns should do him no special good, and second because I see the f3 pawn as a lonely orphean who's going to fall later...

But okay, let's say it's not completely clear if ...f3 helps Black or not. Another thing is that as white, I'd see myself as being a pawn down, but with some development advantage, so I'd strongly consider opening the game here. What about 17.a4 ?