A few observations.
14.Qd3
looks inferior. Why?
a) I always cringe when I ever have to defend a weaker piece with a stronger piece. I always look for something better...or heck, move the attacked piece instead if possible.
b) You are up material. Liquidating (which should be the plan) through trades trumps things like control over a4. My priorities would be different ... trade them Knights.
c) Opening up the center is assured after the trade...either c-file penetration by your rook or e-file penetration by the e-pawn.
16.a4
Okay...going back to the "you're winning via material" part. The only way for the game to turn around is for you to give him something to hit. An uncastled king with your rook on a1 is a tactical target. Sure, you'll tell me that you got it covered ... but notice that you have to NOW keep track of a few moving parts (tension/force accumulated on b5 etc.) required to guarantee that a move like a4 is safe? Keep your life simple and don't give your opponent weaknesses to go after. Castle! :)
20. f3 Again..in keeping with the theme (So I'm winning, now what?), don't give him things to hit. He clearly wants to open up the g-file by saccing the g pawn and the diagonal for his queen. Look for moves that shut down that idea, not moves that "assist" that idea! The move g3 looks like fun. It shuts down the plan to open up the g-file and his big scary queen can't do much without a bishop to assist it on that diagonal. You can then move the f-rook and bring your light-squared bishop around to g2 and you have a perfectly safe King.
24.h3? Doesn't that open a file? I can see your bishop desiring to jump to g2 after gxh3 Your comment was "I'm worried about king safety" a few moves earlier. Well, in keeping with that thought, you don't want to open things up for him. Remember, you just need to trade (if everything else is equal) pieces and take him to an endgame where you are a clear piece up. His only chance lies in finding new weaknesses to poke and stab at. Use Atilla the Hun's wise words "It is not enough that I win, others must lose". Black is clearly flailing his arms around for something to grab onto, something like Bf1 to g2 will plug your big weak-point and now you're challenging his c6 square. Let him squirm ... suffocate your opponent when he's down ... there is no rush to crush him within 5-10 moves!
28.Bf3??
Why not Qxb5 forcing the trade with interest ( a piece!)
32.Rxa7
Ouch. Not to beat this dead horse silly, but you've got to learn to take away targets for your opponent. Make Atilla the Hun proud of you! :) Stopping the pawn is now a priority unless you can force a mate.
Rxa7 makes things really bad for you. I went over the rest of the game and it turned out to be a series of blunders on both sides that you already commented on.
The real lesson to be learned in this game is "How should I play when I'm up/winning".
Hope this helps!
Alright. So this is a game I was playing against a friend of mine on a application on facebook. I didn't know he played chess. But when the topic came up, he commented "I laugh if you think you can beat me at chess". Being a fairly avid player for the past year and a half, I decided to take him up on the challenge. His rating was 1200 as it was his first game on the application. Mine was probably around 1500. Since I didn't know he played chess, and my opponent seemed fairly confident, I wasn't sure what to expect. So, although his rating was lower, he had me on my toes from the begginning. He actually played strongly. As I said, I was starting to panic. And well..the game is posted below. You can just have a look for yourself. I am playing as white.
So, what do you think? Quite a few blunders I noticed after. From both sides. I think we both played strongly. And if it wasn't for his big mistake at the end, I would have lost this match. Anyways. Leave me a comment. I'd love to hear what some higher rated players have to say on this. Actually I'd like to hear from anybody. Constructive criticism is apprieciated. What do you think about my mate?