My 8th game - Awesome Ending...

Just played my 8th game here on chess.com and it ended really sweet. White resigned at the end.. But I'm not sure why? He still had some options open.

How did I do? Did I miss any great tactical opperunities? I reviewed the game several times and am happy with all desicions I made.

Thanks :)

You played well. Good game.

It is unusual but not that unusual to see someone resign so early at this level.  

Hi Shantipawn--this was a good game and short enough to easily look over what happened.  You followed the opening principles well, developing your minor pieces first and aiming them towards the center.  7...d6 followed by ...d5 on the next move wasted some time; one interesting idea, since you've already played ...g6 to allow ...Bg7, is breaking with ...f5 instead.  You'd temporarily back your f6 knight to e8, push f5 with your rook supporting it, and your opponent definitely feels the pressure along the f-file.  9...Qxd5 was riskier than Nxd5 too, lining up your queen with your opponent's well-defended bishop on g2.  After 11. Nh4, things got complicated; why not just 11...Qxd3 and you're a solid pawn ahead?  13...g5 allowed Qxg5, but white missed it along with 17. Bxe4 to keep things equal.  18. h3? was weak, giving you the chance to finally pull your knight back to f6 and safeguard e4.  You went for the swindle instead though, and got lucky on 21. Bxf5??.

So definitely take pride in your gamble paying off, but also think about the fact that you lost the upper hand from a strong opening position.  For example, what if white had played 21. Bg2 instead?  You'd be even in material with his two long-range bishops sweeping the board and a tough win to be found.  Don't rely on mistakes by the other player--sooner or later you'll reach the level where they stop happening.  Always analyze, take your time on every move, and calculate until you've found the best option.

Thanks Notmtwain :)

Thanks Pentiumjs for the solid advice, I went over what you wrote twice and it all made a lot of sense.. There is always a good move, just might take time sometimes to see it. I really appriciate your kindness by taking your time to go over my game, it helped me a lot and I gained some new perspectives.

Cheers

g5 was odd...moving pawns in front of your castled king is generally not recommended "pawns cannot go backwards" a wise old man once said

I've just realized this post is about 12 years old...

how peculiar