Paulgottlieb-
Thanks for your feedback! Much appreciated.
You're right, at my level there are many mistakes, but I think that, like many sports, chess is more exciting at the less advanced level. I enjoy watching minor league baseball games because there IS the possibility of a big mistake on one team or the other. I have a lot of fun playing chess because I know the game can go either way.
I did kick myself very hard after I moved the king and lost the right to castle. One of the things that nagged me throughout the game was that I had a fairly strong attack, but little to no defense. Some people say that the defense is a strong offense, but I'd prefer to have a more balanced position.
Wow! Your strategy to capture the bishop would have been perfect - it's a shame I missed it... I honestly fairly disregarded the kingside after 30...g6. It looked like a solid defense, so I stuck to advancing pawns. Whoops. A lesson to always keep my view of the board wide and consider everything.
Finally, I suppose you are correct in thinking that there's no reason to resign even as far down in position and pieces as he was. I've blundered away numerous "winning situations." When I look at Grandmaster games, it sometimes bothers me that no one ever "finishes" (in my mind at least) their games. What is checkmate for, anyway?? But at that level, there's simply no reason to continue. I've seen some comments on Grandmaster games and it astounds me what they call a blunder. In my book, that's a simple inaccuracy - not the best move! So, I'm glad I'm not a Grandmaster and there are mistakes in my games. How boring would it be to always play one of the best possible moves in any situation?
Thanks again,
Leo
This is my best recent game on chess.com. It was a Live Chess game and there were mistakes from both of us, but I won in the end and I was proud of it. Here it is...
Any comments are appreciated!!
Thanks all.
-Leo