Need help analyzing...

Hi:

This is a game I played last night. I wouldn't mind any comments. I played a program called Chess Pro (iPad app) that has helped me learn the game. I have been playing for about a week, so I am very new. I set the difficulty on 1450 Elo. I am white. Im not sure if I can recap the game, but it seems to me that I grabbed early control of the board in the opening, pinning down the movement of blacks bishop and knight with this Pawn B3, C4, D3 arrangement. THat seemed to give me control of the board from the left side. I then focused on the right side for my main attack. It seemed like I may have pinned the computer because it started making "safe moves" that did not provide it with any positional advantage. I hope the you may offer me:

1. How well I did (relatively speaking) as a beginner
2. Where did I lose ground, or where were the questionable moves on my part.

I really appreciate it!

Best,

Mike

You are certainly doing very well for somebody who has only been playing for a week!  And you played much better than your opponent, which spent a lot of time misplacing its pieces and generally dilly-dallying to no purpose (especially with pointless rook shiftings).

I'm not sure you can recap the game either.   At any rate, you played fine until the piece hang on move 37 (37 Qc6 trades off queens and then your b-pawn is free to queen and your opponent is helpless to prevent this).  Even after you dropped the bishop though you're still winning (Black doesn't have 39... Nd6 because of 40 Qxd6 Qxf2+ 41 Kh3).  Once the queens come off Black's two minor pieces are stymied and nothing can stop the new a-pawn from being promoted.

Overall, for someone who's been playing for only a week you did very well. Only seriously blundering once.

Did you really start playing one week ago ?

You should enter some OTB tournament fast : you have huge potential ! Would be a shame to stay in the Internet world

"Always try to make sure your moves meet the needs of the position."

Not terribly helpful advice, I must say... 

Andy:

Thanks for the great advice. I appreciate you taking the time.

Mike

OK. Why not?

EDIT:

I think it can be actually. Many people seem to often play whatever they fancy, instead of analysing the position 1st.

If you have to ask... 

Hi hicetnunc:

I really did. I started with the iPad app last Saturday (which is fantasic). This allowed me to visualize piece movement, and it taught me (really fast) the importance of looking at your opponent, i.e. not getting lost in your own strategy, and seeing a few steps ahead. I got hooked really fast. I went on vacation last Wednesday (I think thats when I found this site) and have been studying, playing, and watching videos ever since almost non stop (the hours pass like minutes!). I love the game because it feels natural to me...I can't explain it. It just feels good to play.

Thanks for the compliment.

Mike

A couple things of note.

Choice of opening. 1.b3 Openings like this are proven playable, IF you know how to handle them. Otherwise, they can land you in trouble very fast.  As early as move 2 black could have played 2....e4, and black would have been better already. Most human players would have done this in a heartbeat.

At your level, you should open with the simple 1.e4, or 1.d4. Moves which contest the center. Later on, when you have a better chess foundation, you can experiment with less orthodox openings.

Next I will cover what your goal should be for the first 10 moves of the game--

1. move your knight
2. move your bishop
3. castle
4. everything else

Just that simple. Early castling is critical in nearly all chess games. Beginers often loose quickly because their king was still in the center when it got blown open. The sooner you learn this lesson, the better.

Well, as Mike has obviously found ways to make good progress by himself, he may not need to follow the well-trodden paths of 'chess improvement by the book'. I always recommend players who have found their own way to follow it until they hit a wall. Then it's time to reassess and maybe adjust their training habits.

I can't see anything wrong with playing 1.b3 as long as the results follow.

Yep, his play looks pretty good to me...