In a lot of cases it’s probably because your opponent wouldn’t have committed to the attack unless he knew it would be difficult to defend. Maybe I’m just a weirdo but I like games where my opponent sacs material for an attack on my king, but then I defend well and he ends up losing that material for nothing.
Why it is so much harder to defend then to attack ?
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To me in Chess, Defending is the hardest undertaking. When you are under attack and you have to defend, often having to find the only move to stay in the game.
Its always been a weak spot for me. I love to attack and look for combinations, sometimes I will play for complications just to make a game interesting. I like to think I am pretty strong tactically, but when the roles gets reversed is when I suffer, especially defending a K-side attack. Its not that I missing simple tactics, its usually more the result of sustained pressure, especially if my own plans have not worked out.
I wonder how I can improve in this area ? I know that by analysing some of my games later, that I losing games that I could have drawn or even win. Study the games of Petrosian, Korchnoi, Lasker ? I know when looking at the former, I don't understand his games at all. Withdrawing pieces to back rank, meaningless piece shuffles.