Making Every Move Count

One of the goals we aspire to in each game is to make every move count.  That is, we want to make moves that threaten something or at least contribute to some objective.   We try to avoid pointless moves that put our opponents under no pressure.  But rarely do we play a game where we create threats and move forward almost from the beginning of the game to the end.  This is just such a game.  From his first threat at move 3 to the very end, Black presses forward with threat after threat until he wins material leading to a won endgame.  Especially notice the remarkable sequence from moves 15 to 19, where Black plays 5 developing moves in a row, all with tempo.

The point of this game is that we should always try to make the best move possible.  Don't play moves that prevent non-existant threats, or make aimless developing moves just to make a move, or checks that are easily blocked and just waste time and misplace your pieces.  Take time on each move and ask yourself  "How does this move help me or threaten my opponent?"  If you can't come up with a good answer, maybe you should consider a different move.  Things may seem to move slowly in chess, but opportunities are sometimes fleeting, so you have to stay alert and try to make every move count.