id say u did well to win that - u were at a disadvantage after losing e4 to the knight, cos that meant that the main focus of play was in ur half.
basically, if ur gonna start with the king's pawn instead of the queen's; if they move a knight to assault it, as ur opponent did, then u shd protect the e4 pawn, most easily with another pawn. i cant really see that it was worth losing the position.
also, in regard to sundown's comment, there was no way to take the knight straight away
Originally posted by OuermyhteAfter 4.d3,f5 he could have taken the knight with the d-pawn winning a knight for a pawn.I think that's what sundown was talking about.
id say u did well to win that - u were at a disadvantage after losing e4 to the knight, cos that meant that the main focus of play was in ur half.
basically, if ur gonna start with the king's pawn instead of the queen's; if they move a knight to assault it, as ur opponent did, then u shd protect the e4 pawn, most easily with another pawn. i cant really ...[text shortened]... ion.
also, in regard to sundown's comment, there was no way to take the knight straight away
Sir Lot.
In addition to taking the game apart move by move, you might be looking for more general advice. I would suggest three things.
1. Become more familiar with the replies that work in the opening you like to play. After a game, especially one in which the opening did not go well for you, check a data base (there's free ones on line if you don't have one) to see how IM's and GM's replied in the same situation. Find an idea you like and use it from then on.
2. Generally, study lots of tactics. I like Yasser Seirawan's "Winning Chess Tactics" and there are lots of other books.
3. Slow down and try to figure out what your opponents threats are before you start considering your move.
My 2 cents (Canadian):
I thought the checkmate sequence was pretty well done. It was a great open field capture, which is rare.
Earlier in the game, however, I saw a LOT of misses. Even if you didn't want to take the knight right away, there was one point when you could have taken it without even losing your pawn by forking his queen.
If I had to suggest one thing, it would be to try to be a bit more creative earlier on. Your opening sequence looked like it was a textbook opening, because it didn't respond to the knight threat. Your closing moves demonstrated an awareness of the board and some creativity. Work with that. Don't be afraid to ignore the guidebook if you see an opportunity.
Ok, that's probably more than 2 cents CDN. 🙂