A game-ending blunder, but how was I doing beforehand?

Hi everyone,

I've played chess for fun all my life, but I'm fairly new to chess in the sense of actively trying to improve my game/knowing anything about openings, tactics, etc. Below is a recent game that I thought I played fairly well until I made a rather bad blunder that ultimately cost me my queen and the game. I played black against a slightly lower-rated player.

I ended up resigning thinking it would be exceedingly unlikely for me to either promote a pawn or capture the queen before my rook was captured or all my pawns became blocked.

My main questions are: Did I play a decent game up to the point of 32. Nxd2, or were there other crucial moves I could have made along the way that would have saved me from that? Also, would there have been any way for me to win after the blunder?

Your major problem was opening up your King Side. 14...g5 was not good.

Your attack queenside might have been better coordinated. Your attack was crippled by the fact that your N and B did nothing but stop your other rook from getting into the game. Your N for SURE could have been a bigger help. 

Try playing thru the game again and on 13...Rx5. followed by QA2, then NA3 with an eye towards b5. Now you've artillery pointing down your opponents throat.  

And you hung a few pieces, but that's not worth talking about yet, just work on it. 

Opening
Once a fianchetto has been started by g6, finish it.
You allowed the game to be closed, despite playing an opening for control on the a1-h8 diagonal
Fianchetto systems also tend to bring your rooks to the centre early (another reason to open the centre)
Once white signalled the locked center (e6), ideas of how to undermine it creep up... c5,e5 or KID defense style.

Middle game
11. ... e6
Take a look at the position.
-White's activitiy is aiming towards your kingside
-Black's is locked in. Blacks king side minor-pieces are feeling pawn pressure.
-White king is exposed but in no danger.
-Queenside is almost locked.
Strategy for white: Use the kingside majority to attack, open a-b files by advancing pawns. Keep Blacks pieces locked in.
Strategy for Black: Open the centre, Exchange innactive Queenside pieces for whites active kingside pieces. Delay the opening of kingside files.
...White plays 12. 0-0 ?? totally against strategy

Endgame
26. Rxa8 Rxa8;
Take a look at the position
White has the bad bishop and so do you (however it is currently stronger placed)... they are also of opposite colors. -> what this should say is that despite being down in pawns, if you were to trade down pieces into a bishop+pawn endgame, it is likely to be drawish.
Your rook pawns queening square is light, can you make it a passed pawn? - difficult
Bishops are generally better than knights in endgames, if you choose Nxd2, then it should be preferable to start exchanging a few pawns, especially central ones (exaggerating bishops long distance strength)
Your a pawn down, which may mean you won't want to exchange many pieces, until you grab one. Also note that if all the pieces were off the board, a move like b5 would create a passed pawn for white... (often a trick in endgames is to force kings to defend the possibility of a passed pawn, while you use your king to clean the other side of the board).