I got Bb4 as well.
I have used tactics trainer but I can't get my rating above the 1100s.
I have heard the term 'deflection'. Is it the same as 'remove the defender'?
But after all this and watching videos etc etc, I can't help but fell I'm not getting anywhere, because I just did it again: :X
Perhaps I'm expecting too much in such a short space of time?
I've also noticed that I can't seem to beat opponents rated higher than the 1000s unless they seriously blunder.
Well done for seeing Bb4 in that game. It shows you have a grasp of tactics.
Try not to worry too much about your TT rating - mine is a lot lower than it should be but I'm defeated by the clock. It's a very artificial test anyway - after all, when do you ever have a position put in front of you & then have to play it within seconds ? It's a pity the clock can't be disabled & I've heard several other people suggest that.
'Remove the defender' seems like a good description of deflection - coaxing or forcing a piece to give up it's defense of a square, file, diagonal etc..
Just looked at your profile to see your current & recent games & notice that you have three online games open - do you make as many mistakes in these kinds of games as you do in live chess ?
You were'nt doing too badly in the game above until move 40. What happens there - do you get distracted or lose concentration or are you in a rush ? Why don't you see the threat from the bishop ?
Also noticed from your profile that it is/was your birthday today so many happy returns. What's it like being 22 ? - I've completely forgotten 
It depends on how long I take to analyse the position and the possible moves. If I make moves quickly, I tend to make more mistakes. Keep in mind that two of the games are against opponents much higher rated than me. Although I think one is just lost and I may as well resign (don't give any tips though, as it's a tournament game 
).
It may be that in my determination to win, I keep seeing opportunities that aren't there. It may also be that I spend a lot of time thinking about just one move, so I end up having to rush moves later on.
Being 22 is just like being 21 .
All this aside, here is another classic example of a brilliant, well thought-out move:
Yep, I lost against a <600 rated player 
. I think it was a combination of me running out of time and not knowing what to do in this position.
Perhaps I should resign from Chess Intelligence Quotient and join The Blunderers instead?
Don't worry about anyone commenting on your games in progress as it's an unwritten (?) rule that no-one does that !
These blunders of yours aren't due to time pressure alone, are they ? Anyway, you can overcome that problem by playing more online (3-day for example) games.
I asked you before what goes through your mind when you make some of these moves - what's happening to your concentration ? Do you know ?
I had a similar problem when first I started playing here. Previously, I'd played only about five games in forty years (!) so I assumed I must be really rusty but when I was challenged to a game of 960, I thought I'd give it my best.
Much to my surprise, I won that game without too much trouble & it was a real confidence boost - maybe too much so because in my next game I carelessly threw a knight away when I was overly focused on pursuing an attack. It nearly cost me the game but it taught me a couple of things - always concentrate fully on every move & make yourself aware of everything that's happening on the board at all times. It was after that experience that I started going through a mental check-list after each move but before I hit the Submit button, to ensure I havn't done anything silly. Hopefully this will become intuitive in time.
You have to adopt a similar method if you hope to get past this. It would stop you making moves like 10...Bf5 (in the game above) when you should have brought your knight to safety !
On that subject & if you'd like another tactics excercise: You've placed the knight on e4 really well - can you see how useful it would be to bring your queen to h4 if only the knight on f3 didn't stop you ? If you could capture or deflect that knight, you might have an easy mate.
Try & work out how to make your b4 knight safe & how you might threaten/deflect your opponent's f3 knight in two moves.
With proper counter-play your opponent can avoid this but nothing ventured...
Sometimes, even I don't know what (if anything ) goes on in my head .
Nc6 followed by Ng5 after white moves?
I think we have all made these moves before. its all part of the learning process. but eventually you overcome it.
jetfighter13 has a point - most of us learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. But that's not to say that it's good to make mistakes & while some things correct themselves in time, other things require application.
After a serious blunder due to lack of concentration in an early game I played on this site, I changed the way I go about making each move. I now make myself check all of my major pieces & the one I'm moving to ensure it's safe. This is tedious at times but at least I havn't thrown away any pieces since & I think if adamplenty could adopt a similar method then he might have fewer frustrating games.
adamplenty, how are you getting on ? I think your rating has been improving - does this mean fewer disastrous moves ?
jetfighter13 has a point - most of us learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. But that's not to say that it's good to make mistakes & while some things correct themselves in time, other things require application.
After a serious blunder due to lack of concentration in an early game I played on this site, I changed the way I go about making each move. I now make myself check all of my major pieces & the one I'm moving to ensure it's safe. This is tedious at times but at least I havn't thrown away any pieces since & I think if adamplenty could adopt a similar method then he might have fewer frustrating games.
adamplenty, how are you getting on ? I think your rating has been improving - does this mean fewer disastrous moves ?
Hopefully. I'm concentrating more on Online Chess where there's less room for stupid impulsive moves, though there is one thing during my Live Chess match with the boss :
Here I made this move and immediately resigned, forgetting that the Rook was pinned to the King, so he couldn't have played Rd8++.
Do you mean my official rating, or my invisible "there but not there" rating? I've been playing unrated games, so I wouldn't know if/how much my rating would have been improving.
This is just classic! I seem to have developed a habit of leaving my Queen hanging while I'm in front of ChristianSoldier007 . But this just takes the biscuit!. Here I left my Queen hanging for 4 moves in a row!!! 
. But neither I nor he seemed to notice!!.
And I just love how I went from being 20 points down to a mate in 6 in just 2 moves! .
Definitely one of the weirdest games I've played .
well let me think are you old enough to drink and was CS007 doing homework.
well I forgot you were in England ( going to the olympics by any chance) so it doesn;t really matter. but yeah. those are the only two ways that could happen.
in the US minimum age is 21 I don't know what Brittish law is. I know in Germany if you can pay for it and reach the counter then who gives a crap.
well that certaintly shows the difference in attitutes across the atlantic.
Don't worry about the game above (#29) in which you resigned because you end up with a bishop vs two rooks - definitely losing ! I don't know if that trap the 'boss' set for you with the discovered check was entirely intentional but it's very neat.
Setting the hanging queen aside (how on earth did you both miss that ?), you turned that game (#30) around nicely.
I thought your rating used to be lower but I think I'm comparing your online with your live rating. Do you feel that you're making better moves in online games without having to make rushed moves ?
Something I should have asked before - for how long have you been playing chess ?
I have no idea how we both missed the hanging Queen . I only found out after seeing the computer analysis 
(I think that if it takes a Grandmaster level computer to spot that the Queen has been hanging for 4 moves, there's something wrong ). We were probably either asleep or concentrating on another area of the board.
Yes, I do feel I make better moves in Online Chess, with much more time to analyse the position.
I have only started playing a lot since I came here. Before, it was just the odd game or 2 every now and then. Although I did come runner up in a primary school Chess tournament once. So, I think I could be considered a beginner.
Concentrating too much on a small area of the board is a problem for most players at some time & then you miss that threat coming from the opposite corner !
I use to settle into a kind of tunnel vision in some of my games, especially when I was mounting an attack but I taught myself to 'zoom out' every so often & take stock of everything on the board.
Glad to hear your Online games are proving more successful - it does seem that most of your problems stem from time pressure. It's about finding the mode of play in which you're most comfortable & gives the best results.
You may describe yourself as a beginner but you've got a respectable number of games under your belt. Do you ever tackle the daily puzzles here; it's a good way of supplementing Tactics Trainer ?
Have you tried Tactics Trainer ?
I've been watching aww-rats videos too (they're quite instructive) & Chess Mentor is fine but I wonder if those things are going to help you with your immediate problem. You really need to concentrate on playing good technical chess first - not throwing pieces away carelessly or leaving your king vulnerable to attack.
Every time you move a piece to an unprotected square, ask the question 'can it be taken on that square ?' & if I move my rook away from the defense of my king, can I be mated ? Think through the consequences of your actions & in time you'll do it automatically.
Also be wary of taking your opponent's discarded pieces because it may be a trap ! As in the first diagram of post #18 - taking the knight lost you the game.
On the subject of traps, I spotted a nice one in your second diagram above at move 20 where you played h3. I assume you saw how useful it would be to move your rook to h4 (threatening Qxh7#) if it wasn't for that black bishop guarding the square. How might you tempt that bishop off it's diagonal so you can play Rh4 ?
See if you can work it out for yourself but here's my solution:-
Have you heard the term 'deflection' ? At the very least you win material but don't worry, I wouldn't have seen all of this in a game of live chess when time is short.