Petrov Madness!

6: ....Nd4? 

I wasn't even so sure at first why I played Nd4, apart from occupying on what seemed like a "juicy" square. At that time I decided to try new things so I deliberately let my opponent captured a clean pawn!

Before thinking of occupying a square, think about whether that square is an actual outpost for your piece. Generally speaking out of the opening, developing all of your pieces is more important than placing your pieces in the center. That being said, if you have a tactical opportunity with your piece moving 2 times out of the opening, then by all means you should go for it. Otherwise, and especially if it's dropping a pawn, it's generally not a good idea. The opening is about controlling key squares in the center, getting your pieces developed, and getting your king to safety, ideally, using the least amount of tempi. If you do not begin to apply these principles consistently, then you will struggle to improve and face tougher opponents who play relatively better out of the opening.

7: Bd6?

Wouldn't d5 block my dark-squared bishop on e7 from controlling the a3-f8 diagonal? On the other hand, d5 is also great as it prepares the queen and my light-squared bishop to develop!

Here your bishop can come to e6 later. The pawn won't be there on d5 for long as the tension that pawn creates will eventually lead to its exchange. You can then support the pawn on d5 progressively fortifying your center. Remember it's not as important to attack out of the opening (unless a clear tactic presents itself) as it is to complete all stages of development.

16: a6?

You read my mind! I wanted to defend against Nb5 using the a-pawn! I didn't know that would be seen as a "wasted move!" 

Tempi are always of the essence in chess. So is pawn structure. Before making a move, step back to question whether you are creating any weaknesses by moving your pieces, and whether you're simply "throwing the ball into your opponent's court" by not making an active move. Generally speaking, you don't want to do that unless it happens to be putting your opponent into zugzwang in a winning endgame. The initiative combined with time are almost always the most important deciding factors of who has chances to win and who doesn't. So use them wisely!

30: Qxg2?

You suggested an excellent winning continuation which happens to be a mate in 4, which is a tall order for me to calculate! But can you can see, I'm a person who likes to grab material advantage at this one!

I don't blame you for going for the material, but when you have the time to spend thinking of the most favorable of the winning exchanges you can make, do it, spend that time! It will help you identify similar winning ideas quicker in the future where there might not be any other alternative wins, and this is one of the surefire ways of gaining Elo, challenging higher rated opponents, and securing a higher win rate.

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Questions to ask:

1) After move 20: cxd2, what if White did not capture the pawn and played 21: Rb1 instead? Would you see a better move or I can just simply capture White's bishop with 21: Nxg4 since White's Re2 prevents the White queen from recapturing the knight.

Take a look at this line which is completely crippling for white after Rb1.

21. Rb1 Nxg4 22. h3 (preventing Bxh3+) ...Qd6! (threatening Qd3!!) 23. hxg4 Qd3! (with a double attack. Can you find the tactic in this position that leads to a forced win?) Hint: Look at the rook on b1, the pawn on d2, and the queen on d3. Also useful is to look at white's options other than the moves mentioned above, they all lose!

2) After White move 16: Na3, you suggested 16:...dxc3, Be3. What if I play 17: ....c2, double-attacking White's queen and rook with the discovered bishop attack? Would Black achieve anything positional wise, other than a +1 material exchange? (Nxc2, Bxa1, Qxa1.)

17...c2 would be a mistake. White can play 18. Qxc2 and after ...Bxa1 19. Rxa1 immediately you can tell white is going to win back that pawn and then some. Black is much worse now and your king is not safe castled queenside with a double pin on your c5 pawn. I suggest looking at this variation. White will soon play Rc1 and crash into your position while your rook on a8 won't have time to mobilize against white's pressure on the c-file.

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My thoughts:

15: O-O-O: I don't remember now why I made this move, but at the time I was playing this game (which was a week ago), I try a new variation again. This was based on my thoughts that White looked to have more spaces to invade in the kingside, rather than the queenside. Although invading in the queenside can be quite slow for White as they need to work together with their pawns, I can possibly see why White invading the queenside can also be really annoying for Black!

Generally speaking, castling queenside is not safe. In most cases it is best to castle kingside. There are some circumstance where it is very good, like when you're up a pawn in the opening and have a free tempo of development of a bishop with check that allows you then to castle queenside, maybe even delivering another check, while getting your rook to an open file. If you are planning to castle queenside though, you don't have enough tempi to play slow moves like 16...a6. You need to focus on making your attack work before your opponent's. That's the general unspoken rule of castling opposite to your enemy's king.

24: Rd8!

From move 24 to move 31(Except 25: Nxe4): Rd2+, all the moves I played were forcing moves if you could see what I'm thinking there! I actually wanted to invite White's queen to capture the e4 knight for free leading to a direct checkmate the next move!

I see what you mean, that was definitely a great finish on your part, and I'm happy to see you rising in the ranks. Keep it up!

~sean893

21: Rb1..Qd3!

Variation 01

24: Qf1, d1 = Q, Rxd1, Qxd1, Qxd1, Rxd1+ and white is checkmated after the very next move.

This is definitely a line worth considering. Although you always want to consider best play, your opponent might not always play the best moves under pressure. If a bunch of tactics are presenting themselves, and they're all winning to varying degrees, you will find yourself with a quicker win by identifying those "cheapos", which will secure more games. Even if white does not go down that path, after Qxd1 the position is completely shattered and he will surely be mated soon!

Variation 02

24: Qf1, d1 = Q, Rxd1, Qxd1, Re1! and white still has fighting chances to survive (against me) after 26: Qxg4. and White can simply play g3! to stop the immediate checkmate threat of Qh2#. (supported by the bishop.)

Definitely one of the best moves white can play, and the only one that he can play to prevent the exchange of queens. This is a critical variation and one you might expect your opponent to play in the game, but your rooks will soon double on the open d-file, and white will not be able to hold a draw.

Variation 03

24: Qf1.., Qxb1+, Rxd2, Qxf1+Kxf1, Rxd2 and White hangs on a little bit longer, surviving from immediate checkmate. Did you mean "forced win" as in complete winning endgame? If that's what you mean, then this last variation presents its picture.

Here you missed a crushing move for black, 25. Rxd2?? black can play ... Bh2+! winning the queen.