General Play Analysis Help.

Hey Guys on Chess.com

I've been playing chess for a while casually with friends and family, but recently I decided to play in tournaments for school (as I haven't really participated in any Co-cirricular activities yet) but anyways...

I want to learn how to analyse my games and I generally play the King's Gambit with white (despite the "Bust to the King's Gambit" which I have read...) and play it the way Fischer plays it, moving the bishop instead of the knight with the exception of certain games. If my opponent doesn't go c5, to let me do King's Gambit, I switch into King Indian's Attack which is gets things less messy I guess.

As Black, I have just recently learnt the theory for Sicilian Defence to get into the 4 Variants - Dragon, Najdorf etc. But learnt the Dragon in more detail (Like everyone cause of the name =D). But since, I'm not 100% comfortable with my opponent's following booklines, I play the French Defense or else... just whatever comes really...

So thx guys =D! And Good Luck with all your future matches!~

nicely done !!

I would not know where to start!! Knowing how to move pieces does not mean you know how to play chess. I don't want to be EVIL, but you games are just terrible. You completely ignore your opponents moves, you miss simple tactics, you are happy to win when your opponent gives you a Queen for free?!

Just playing won't get you anywhere. You need to study and you need to play vs better players.

You play KG, omg!! Do you even know what is the idea of Gambit? To gain a tempo! One tempo!! One tempo that your opponent will lose if he capture gambit pawn! And yet you play KG, and lose ALL your pieces, and black used only Queen, Knight and Bishop? He did not move any other!! What are we talking about here. A bust to Kings Gambit?? At your lvl? Forget this words - refuted - that does not exist for you until you get to GM level!! Can you refute Bongcloud?

King Indian and Sicilian? Najdorf and Dragon? You want to jump to advanced lines of a Sicilian right away and most of you beginers do not even know how to play Giuoco Piano!

Sry about that.

Streptomicin - I appeciate the kind words (I learn better "scolded") and I appreciate the points... Truth is that my friend told me to try out King's Gambit... I never thought it was to gain tempo but rather to obtain a better center control as the E file pawn takes the F file pawn. I don't play Sicilian at all, I just wanted to see how its played out... And I do know the Giuco Piano. I admit I'm not a great chess player and I do admit I do not often see plans in my opponent's moves and as for the simple tactics... you could be a bit more specific. But overall Thanks

paul - Thanks as well... I will keep that in mind

Ok, I was in bad mood that day, but most of it stands.

I did miss it was live chess, that is why I was so hard on you. I will continue some other time I'm at work now.

Wow.  Ok.

First, forget all that opening garbage.  You are concerned about playing the King's Gambit, but the Queen's Pawn opening, the second most common, is completely foreign to you?  Play the standard king's pawn opening until you are much higher rated.  You talk about these openings and theory, but you don't seem to understand basic opening theory.  The whole point of the opening is to develop your pieces and protect your king.  Until you are at an expert level, don't worry about what fancy openings GMs play.  You are not Bobby Fischer, so playing like him is going to get you into a lost position you don't understand in about 5 moves. On move one in the first game, you are already lost.  If the move seems unusual to you, play safe moves that develop your pieces.  I wouldn't even know where to start with your opening because you don't seem to grasp any of it.  How does playing 1... d5 protect your queen when you then waste 3 moves moving her around the board while your opponent develops?  Learn the standard king's pawn opening, and why each move is made, and leave it at that.

Second, you have to study tactics, a lot.  At move 6 in the first game, when you realize he is about to fork your king and rook, why move your knight "out of the way"?  Out of the way of what?  Knights jump, they don't capture all the pieces surrounding them when they land.  You could have just moved your knight to a3 to protect the square he was trying to jump to preventing the fork.  It's a bad spot for your knight, but better than losing a rook.

There are just so many areas where you made glaring mistakes like that and gave away pieces, or missed free pieces, the only recomendation I can give you is pick up a beginner's book and start studying.  Chess for Dummies, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess, there are a million of these things.  Pick one up, and pay attention to what it says.  Don't blow by it because you want to play the Najdorf, there is a reason they start you off with 1. e4 2. Nf3 etc etc. There is a reason they teach you basic tactics instead of openings first.  At some points in your game, you don't even seem to undertsand the basic rules of check ("He doesn't take with the rook which is a good move" he didn't take your rook because he was in check) so maybe you shouldn't gloss over the rules sections either.

Do not kid yourself, if you enter a tournament right now, scholastic or otherwise, you are not going to do well.  You really have to study.  Study for a while until you really understand what is important or not, then play slow games so you can apply what you have learned and undertsand it.

Well I was quite happy to see I came 5th overall in South Region-ish... lol... erm yea... I'm a bit careless and still trying to fix that... like I would see different moves and "paths" I guess and then forget about why I rejected the first path and go for it... lol

EDIT: bhandelman - At some points in your game, you don't even seem to undertsand the basic rules of check ("He doesn't take with the rook which is a good move" he didn't take your rook because he was in check) so maybe you shouldn't gloss over the rules sections either. 

If you're talking about move 31. in the first game - I thought that when you're in check you can capture the piece putting your king in check... You can't capture a piece putting your king in check... Well... I learnt something new! Thanks! =D