A loaded question, I know! In this case, though, I'm refering to this game Game 2928374 . Somewhere I went terribly wrong, perhaps from the very opening, and I'd like to know what I did wrong and what, if anything I did right.
My own analysis of the game runs like this: I don't think I did well in the opening. I think I placed my pieces awkwardly so that they didn't help each other. By the middle of the game I was ready to quit but decided to go down fighting. I believe I did some nice work at this point and may even have had a win within my grasp, but I should have taken care of that bishop and I let my rook and queen get too far afield and couldn't prevent the back-rank mate.
Any thoughts ... ?
isn't the whole point of 1,c4 to eventually take one of your opponents middle pawns? i.e. move 4 doesn't make any sense.
what was your thinking at move 10? if he had took that pawn he would've went a pawn up. i think taking the b pawn was best their.
you're right about the pawn positioning. you should've taken his pawn when he did end up taking yours, it doesn't help when you have lone pawn in the middle of the board.
why move 17? your knight couldn't do anything from their.
wow move 21 is a shocker, always remember when you move a normal piece wrongly it can always move back but when you move a pawn its stuck their, really think a lot before moving a pawn. at that point i would've Qf3, you're under attack and need to get a better position that forces him to either trade queens or move it somewhere where he can't do much damage, theres not a lot on for him really.
move 30, why didn't you take his c pawn? it would've but his knight under pressure and he can't move it so his only option is to protect it with one of his rooks, which you then trade with your bishop. after that you could maybe Ne3. (but someone good might say thats a horrible move?)
move 33 should have meant the end of the game with Re1 and then likely Qe1. taking his knight and forcing the trade decision was again your best option and leaves you only slightly behind.
a pretty crappy game 🙂 but keep at it, starting this tread and looking over your games is a good thing, you'll get better.
I would recommend developing your minor pieces first and then maybe bring out the bigger guns like your rook once you have some lines opened up. For instance, I think Bd2 would be preferrable to Re3 on move 16. I don't understand move 18. Nh4. That was just asking for trouble, your knight could not reach anything else from there and then you protected it with your rook which became a target as well, major losses of tempo. I would say that was the definite deciding point of the game. Down a rook and 3 pawns is tough to come back.
Also, it seems you may have difficulty seeing double attacks on a piece and you lost I believe 3 pawns prior to losing your rook for no compensation. Pawns are important.
There were other things, but I believe if you work on proper development of pieces, not losing pawns needlessley, and recognizing different tactics like double attacks or multiple attacks on a piece, you will do better.
4. c5, NOOOOOOO lol, you have two way better options, either take his pawn, or ignore it and if he takes with dxc4 then the pawn is drawn away from the center and you gain tempo! (you'll easily get it back with your king's bishop)
8. Ng5, Before you make agressive moves to the g5 square, always think of what you will do if he pushes a pawn to attack g5. The pawn move needs to be accounted for when your planning attacks, because if your reaction to the pawn is to retreat back to the same square then you've basically wasted a turn, but if it's all part of an intricate plan or string of moves then you're set!
16. Re3, I'm not sure that's the best way to defend c3 because your putting your valuable rook in a vulnerable position where you'll be retreating with moves like 16...Ng4 instead of attacking! 16. Bd2 I believe is best, because not only does it cover the c3 square, but can also potentially attack the b4 square
20. Be3, I think f3 looks better because not only does it protect the f2 square but it also attacks and forces him to retreat.
21. g4, You needed to 21. dxe5
22. g5, You allow him to take a pawn for free and put it on an attacking square biting your kNight at h4, kNight has no good retreat square and your bishop is HANGING!
Basic mistakes that we all make and problems that a few extra minutes of analysis would FIX 🙂
Good luck in your future games!!!!
Originally posted by trevor33The whole point of 1.c4 is to control d5. so clearly his move didn't make any sense. That said, he had already transposed into a QGD line, so you really need to evaluate it from that standpoint (I still would not have played c5).
isn't the whole point of 1,c4 to eventually take one of your opponents middle pawns? i.e. move 4 doesn't make any sense.