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A Comedy of Errors; low-ranked player
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Thank you all very much for the advice so far. Glad this game provided so much amusement to you all 
It was a badly played game but fun in its own way...it was challenging in the sense that I kept needing to find ways to make up for my own blunders
And, in the end, despite my really bad play, I actually WON 
I think that this was the MOST amazing thing of all about this game 
Chess4001 wrote:
you have no idea how hard I laughed going through that game. WHAT THE H*LL IS WITH THIS GAME LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL????? but i'll do my best not to laugh as i analyze it once more:
23. qxg7 mate
24. qf5???? what did that just do, give the queen away too?
25. bd4???? what did that also do, give the bishop away?
31. ..qxf3 cannot be described by words.
fun game!
Every time I take another look at this game, I get more and more amazed that I actually even played this game.
It's certainly amusing to laugh about now that I finished it 
And hey, it's a good learning experience.
I love your comment on 31. qxf3
lol.
hey dont feel bad or I can share some of chess4001's great chess games of the past hehehehe.
In all you really really need to work on board vision. You see only the first piece your eyes lock onto then ignore any other options. 3, Bxb5 and a mate in 1 as was mentioned before. My guess is you are already considering a move before your opponent makes one and are blind to other options. Or your opponent makes a move and you consider a reply and just go with that one. Until you were in trouble then you slowed this habit down. a fun book but one that helps with board vision is chessmazes I and II. get it and practice the positions the are a lot of fun and have a very sneaky way to teach you board vision, calculation and planning.
Josh Waltzkin always said that when you find a good move force yourself to stop and take another look at the board, because you don't want to make a good move. You want to make the BEST move. So Tony, I think your advice was very sound. I played far too casually up until I realized that I made a bad mistake. After that, in this game, my focus improved up until the awful missed checkmate with the Queen. Then I messed up badly again and was saved only because my opponent also forgot to stop and take a look at the board before moving.
Chessmazes sounds like something I'd enjoy, I'm definitely checking that out.
hmm ok and Ill quite Grandmaster Soltis. In how to choose a chess move he made the comment that the point is to make a good move! Due to the simple fact you have a clock ticking away you can not always spend time looking at lines for the best move due to practical reasons. Of course you should look at forcing moves but most times this will not help you find a move. Playing a GOOD Move and doing it often is actually the real point.
It makes a great deal of sense if you sit back and think about it. We are not computers. we dont evaluate things with a formula and then take the > than approach. In some respects the notion that you have to find a good move frees you from a lot of doubt.
That said , the bit of advice to stop and look for a better move is a good one but dont get caught up in an endless mental trap of self doubt. Dont worry if your move isnt the best and if a computer says your move is 2nd or 3rd or 5th best who cares! as long as its not a blunder things are good.
Ask this simple question: do you think your chances of wining are as good or better than your opponents after the move you want to play? keep the ball on your side and things are good.
I would highly recommend the soltis book btw .
I never knew who was gonna win till the end of the game. :P
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Black actually resigned there?! lol
ugly game ... sorry to say :P
Hmmm, a difference in approaches there...Grandmaster Soltis's seems more realistic for beginning players, at least...perhaps for now I should just worry for the moment about good moves and board vision.
not different at all... tell me how you plan to find the perfect move while a clock is ticking away? the simple reality is that the vast majority of moves in chess are non-forcing. We develop pieces, build a plan, make maneuvers based on some short range tactics but most moves are not forcing. We have to make a decision based on the information in front of us in a short period of time. Soltis point was that if you try to find the perfect move with the limited knowledge and human limitations of calculation and time you are deluding yourself. The goal is to find a move that maintains an advantage or the balance in the position NOT a perfect advantage since thats just a pipe dream. The thought of finding the BEST move is a idealist approach that just doesnt fit into reality.
read How to find a chess move and you will see what I mean. Aagaard says essentially the samething in a different way in his book on calculation as does Dvoresky in his tactics book and Nunn in his Secrets of Practical chess (another great book but more advanced)
You remind me of me: A good theoretical knowledge of the game, held back by huge gaps in the ability to apply said theories.
I forget who recommended this to me, but chesstempo.com allows you to do an unlimited number of tactics problems. Great way to "get your head in the game" before tackling the TT on this site. Never give up!
I would agree with you, if you were right. Oh, and I see you still comb your hair like a girl.