Analysis Wanted

Please tell me how to improve!

wow that's a wonderful checkmate.

thanks.

You both are obviously bad at tactics, and tactics alone will boost your rating by 200 to 600 Elo points.

In each and every position, you should wonder "what are the pieces under attack?", "are they sufficiently defended?", "what should I do about it, if anything?"

For example, you played 9.Bf7+, terrible.The knight on g8 was free for you to take, with a mating threat on f7.

Later, you played the obvious yet passive 12.Rb1, while you really should have considered Bxg8 and Qxa8 (I don't believe in Bxg8, but it has to be on your list of candidate moves ; Qxa8 on the other hand, requires precise follow up, but should be winning). After 12.Qxa8 Nxa1 that rook exchange favours you because your Q is terribly annoying on a8 (pinning the B, that you can later win with Be6) while a1 is about the worst square for a knight).

The next step for tactic is wondering what is your opponent's reply.

When you've chosen your move, you should stop one last time before doing it, visualize the position that would occur if you played it and wonder what move you would do if you were your opponent. If he can force a position that is better for him than what you expected or than where you started, yoyu should reconsider your move.

For example, when playing 4.Qh5+, you should have forsee 4...g6 (forced) where your queen has to move again : you spent 2 tempi achieving nothing but improving your opponent's posittion (who should follow with Bg7 and certainly not Bb4) who only spent one.

The next step is to think several moves ahead, and to focus not only on threatened material, but also on threatened squares.

For example, when you move your Q early like in this game, you exposes yourself to Nd4!, that black played on move 10, but could have ,played on move 8, 6 or 5 (had he palyed Nf6 instead of f6, he would have a big advantagge after a well timed Nd4). Nc6 to d4 for black is the refutation to early Q aggression from white because it targets f3 c2, b3, which are the square the Queens either want to be on or has to defend. c3 does prevent Nd4 but paralyses half of your army (your Q side), because you don't have a knight on f3 and a queen on d1 to help pushing d4 and make room for your QS knight and bishop. So it's good to be aware of Nd4 so as not to lose instantly, but there's actually nothing you can do about it but fleeing all the way back to d1 with the Q once it appears.

Nh3 is yet another reason why you don't want your Q on f3.

As far as strategy goes, you castled, which is a victory. And you played d3!, which protects e4 and opens your DS bishop.

Other than that Meh.

Qb3 might be a tactically interesting but flawed idea (because of Nd4, aiming not only at b3 and c2, but also e2, so even though you castled, you're still vulnerable, that's how bad it is to move your queen that early) it is definitely a strategical blunder.

Sortez les pièces, or make your pieces active, translated in modern terms, is the first principle of chess. The queen is already out, and she isn't even better on b3 than she was on f3, so don't move her. 8.Ng5 is a move which screams at me, but it does not lead to a good follow up (but it's a good ressource against ...g5 threatening g4), so even though your knight is sad at h3, you should take care of your queenside knight and bishop, which are sadder.

8.d3 is by far the simplest and most principled move in that position.

8.Nc3, I was not very happy at first to let him double my pawns, but is BxN, after dxB, white has the bishop pair and black King'knight cannot move without leaving the defense of the h6 square.

Opening the center is another good plan since you have castled and your opponent hasn't, but since you lack a knight on f3 and a queen on d1, d4, even prepared with c3 with tempo, does not work. Instead, a plan following this general idea might be a queenside pawn storm, exploiting the exposed black pointless bishop : c3 b4 followed by Bb2, preparing both d4 and defneding the a1 rook, preparing a4 b5 kicking the ennemy knight, thus further preparing d4.

You did not make too many pawn moves which is good, but your opponent did (f6, a6 b5 were unnessesary and lost precious time) Do do like hime.

I'd really just recommend that you get a general old book like 500 Master Games of Chess by Tartakower and go through it to see how the masters of old played the game. Get a good idea of how various openings look and how to think your way out of a jam. (You will not find any game with 2. Qf3.)