After 14.Nxc3 you are clearly better(you have the better bishop and you can still decide where to move the king.Also black's bishop sucks).I think the reason you lost is psihological.You overestimated your oponent even if you had a better position because of his rating.This happens to many players(including myself).
Throwing away a superior position.
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Paul, I'm not saying I have a won position. I'm saying I'm better. I have no worries after 15. ... Ne7. There's nothing really wrong with my position at all, except that I need to decide if I want to keep my king in the center or castle, and either way, once I activate my rook, I should be able to play this out to at least a draw. Plus, with more active pieces, I should be able to perhaps seize any opportunity that comes my way.
29. ... Bd3+ is a good find, I didn't see that.
And I agree, the ending is just a disaster. But that's been my motif lately: play well into the middle game, then fall apart completely.
I'm white in the following game. A theme in my play lately is to get to a late middle-game with an objectively better position and then blunder away the advantage. Usually, as in this game, I make a couple of moves too quickly, looking for fast gains rather than making sure my position can support my greed.
Any help or insight will be welcome!