I have achieved a 1500 rating, this was due to patience and study. I think it is important to read chess books and study master games.
I was able to make use of the long diagonal as I had learned with some chess tutorials... would not have won so easily if I had not studied the usage of diagonals. Game 2924776
I knew trading my extra knight for a pawn left my opponent with a hanging pawn and me with a substantial pawn majority. In the end I was able to lose the last exchange (1 pawn) but win the game. Game 2890338
Here, not counting the bad play from my opponent, I use my bishops to their full potential creating two pins. Move 12, a discovered attack pinning the knight to the rook. Move 13, pin the other knight to the queen. This yields me a rook for a bishop. Then, after dealing with whites knights I set up the dreaded rook battery, winning the game. Game 2840062
Some of the books I have read are Pandofinis "Weapons of Chess" which talks alot about strategy and pawns, and Serwains "Winning Chess Tactics". Also, the FICS tutorials have helped me greatly and these victories can be attributed to some of these resources I have used.
I am making this thread to illustrate how understanding all aspects of the game is important, not just tactics or position or certain book lines. There are many rules and exceptions that need to be understood before one can go around winning matches with confidence.
Any other games that illustrate certain principals are welcome to be posted.
Thanks 🙂
In my opinion, at the 1500 level games are lost due to tactical plays, not positional ones. Of the games you posted, they all seemed to be won due to the fact that your opponents kept dropping pawns.
The subtler nuances of chess and their use seem to only truly manifest themselves in much higher rated games. One could say, "The gambit allowed me to gain counterplay on the queenside", but it's really the fact that most players don't do basic counting and find their pieces dropping off.
Just my opinion 🙂 Congrats on your progress!