game analysis and advice to get past 1000

Sometimes I like to look at games to analyze a bit, but then I don't post anything... with you I kept looking at games, so it's almost too much of a waste to not reply

I'll start with some things I liked, then talk about related mistakes.

-

https://www.chess.com/game/live/114992267959?username=the_dude_abides90

Your last two moves were a4 and b4. This really impressed me. I'd hardly expect a 1500 to play this way much less sub 1000. In other games your pawn moves weren't always good though, so let's highlight the elements that make a4+b4 a good idea.

First is, your furthest advanced center pawn is on the queenside (d5) so you have a natural space advantage there, and so it very sensible to seek play on that side.

Second is all your minor pieces are off the back rank and your king is safe. Pushing pawns gains space and (eventually) opens new avenues of attack when pawns are traded (that's what a "pawn break" is). Both of those things (space and open lines) are not useful unless you have active pieces (knights, bishops, rooks) to make use of them.

The third element is the other areas of the board (center and kingside) are solid. Sometimes we'd like to take time to push some pawns, but the opponent can make threats faster, so we have to wait. Here you have both the positional prerequisites and the time to push those pawns.

-

https://www.chess.com/game/live/113620814337?username=the_dude_abides90

Here your last move was b4. Such a nice pawn break. Every line that could possibly open is a line you'd like to open. The diagonal your queen is on looks at the d6 pawn, the diagonal your bishop is on looks at b6 pawn, and your rook is on the c file.

The d6 and b6 pawns are natural targets because they can't be defended by a pawn.

And again, your king is safe, pieces off the back rank, black can't make threats on the kingside... you don't have a natural space advantage, but you do have clear targets (b6 and d6 pawns). And in the game after bxc bxc your 'a' pawn became a passed pawn.

-

https://www.chess.com/game/live/114917878151?username=the_dude_abides90

Here your last move was d5. This is just awful. It's the positional version of helpmate. In other words, if your opponent were allowed to force you to play a move, but nothing like Ng4 to give away your knight, then what's the most self-damaging move black could play? Probably d5. The game is basically over. Open lines always favor the side with better development. Here that's white. Not only that, but your king is still in the center.

There were other games where I was impressed with certain pawn moves you made. There were also some games with questionable pawn breaks. Overall your intuition seems to be very good for pawn breaks. The hope is that by becoming more consciously aware of the elements that make a pawn break good or bad you'll be able to avoid the bad ones and keep playing the good ones.

-

Now a few isolated things I wanted to highlight.

-

https://www.chess.com/game/live/114809320095?username=the_dude_abides90

This game was a scotch gambit where you lost out of the opening.

In many 1.e4 e5 openings you're not required to memorize a lot, but the various gambits that come out of the Scotch have a lot of must-know theory. Intuition and calculation aren't enough unless you have a few hours on the clock. I'll give you some starter lines if you're interested. The 5...d6 line I show is a way to avoid having to know a lot of theory.

-

https://www.chess.com/game/live/114639553287?username=the_dude_abides90

In this position you play Ng3 and after Rh3 the knight is trapped and lost.

We already talked about pawns, and I thought this would be a useful position to talk about a checklist for non-pawns.

Ideally when you move a non pawn it...

• Is on the opponent's half of the board
• Makes a threat
• Is on a defended square
• Can't easily be chased away

Your move does the first two, but not the last two.

-

https://www.chess.com/game/live/114144020869?username=the_dude_abides90

In this position you're ahead a rook for a bishop. If you retreat with Bf3 you'll have the better position. Instead you played Bg2 and capture the pawn.

Recall in the first position of this post I talk about how white had time for a4 and b4. In this position you don't have time to win the h pawn, which also opens the h file against your king. You don't have time because your king isn't castled and your pieces are somewhat less active than your opponent's. White spends a few moves activating pieces, while you spend a few moves grabbing the pawn, and suddenly your position collapses... but I don't want that collapse to be mysterious to you.

The lesson here is first take care of the general health of your position (king safety and active pieces always come first) after that you can spend time doing things like pushing pawns and trying to win material.

-

https://www.chess.com/game/live/114639553287?username=the_dude_abides90

Ok, last position, black to move.

I talked about a lot of fun stuff, but the biggest improvement to rating under 1500 is the unglamorous stuff... simply not making 1 move mistakes.

In the above position white threatens your bishop. If you retreat then you're ahead. Instead you play Nh5, and so white wins your bishop and you eventually lose the game.

There was another game where at one point you could just capture an undefended bishop, but didn't. It's really hard to eliminate one move blunders like that, but be sure you're aware of it and working to improve. One thing you can do is challenge yourself to find multiple forcing moves (threats, captures, and checks are the forcing moves) in every position. Even beginners do this for some positions! Some is not enough. Your goal is to find 100% of the forcing moves in 100% of positions. That way 1 move mistakes will drop to near zero... but it's very hard to build this habit, and like I said, also unglamorous. But after you do it, you get to focus on the fun stuff.

Any advice for better regulating my stress or excitement level in game?