Fun Game, thoughts?

I played a fun game a little while ago and I think it would be a good one for some more experienced players to have a look at. I'm a new player to any kind of serious chess and this would be massively helpful.

I won the game, but not solidly. I made a lot of mistakes such as screwing up and losing my queen early (and more I'm sure you guys will point out). I also feel like I played OK for a lot of the rest of the game, so it's a mixed bag.

Thoughts? I have gone over this once myself, but I want a more experienced mind's take, as well.

on your second move white moved the queen but what was much better of a move was nc3

I was black.;)

I thought my only escape was to interpose with my queen. Upon seeing it again, I see 12...Nxc6.

12...Nxc6 is an illegal move -- the knight is pinned by white's queen.

nc3 you reckon? Main line is 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4

Also, like Bur_Oak said, 12..Nxc6 is illegal - 12...Qd7 is the only legal move.

One of the biggest mistakes was 7..b6. A pointless move because your bishop was already out and b6 was only useful for a fianchetto in this game...? That's all i see b6 for; pawn attacks usually begin with ..a6. b6 also cost you your queen. So i guess the lesson is if your opponent controls a diagonal, don't open it up for him/her!

By God, you're right. I'm having all kinds of brainfarts tonight.

22...Bh5 wins back the queen for the price of your bishop. (Woops ... you saw that a move later and saved your other bishop meanwhile. Never mind!)

I never thought about that being the hole in the defenses that killed my queen. It didn't seem (and still doesn't, in a way) like that bad a move. Can you expand any, or is it just because it' doesn't accomplish anything? Also, what is a "fianchetto"? You mention my bishop- is it moving my queen-bishop to A6, like a flank?

The sequence, the "main line" what is that exactly? I played it out and it makes total sense. Is it the accepted "best" moves in that situation?

nice use of the bishop pair.

Thanks, mottsauce. It shows I am soaking up some of this stuff.

Well, I don't know so much as the others replying, but I do know this that...in chess, we should always watch out for certain patterns, like a very active enemy rook, and your own king and queen in the same rank or file, or a very active enemy bishop and your two rooks on the same rank or file, 3 squares apart...these tend to occur very often, and can decisively spoil your game.

Another thing...always gice your king some breathing space! Never do what your opponent did, the king surrounded by his retinue, yet all worthless when a bish attacks along the only open diagonal.......

I always find these two 'rules' quite useful...hope they help you

The b6 move may be playable if part of a coherent plan, such as the fianchetto mentioned above. ("Fianchetto" refers to the flank development of a bishop, generally on the "Knight 2" square if you understand descriptive notation. In your game, the fianchettoed bishop would be your queen's bishop moved to b7.) Another plan for b6 could have been to prepare for c5. Absent such a plan, it's a wasted move which creates weaknesses. In this case, its contribution to the loss of the queen was that it took away the possibility of blocking the check with c6.

"Main line" refers to a variation or sequence which is either presently accepted as best, or is the most commonly played line among variations of roughly equal strength usually because current theory considers the line to offer more opportunities/better chances.

Cool, thanks for the explanations. I like the idea of fianchettoing (I suppose I can make a verb out of that) bishop(s) so, once castled, they're already out of the way of the rooks in the center as well as sitting on long diagonals. Can you recommend any openings with that development in mind that I might read into?

There are a number of such openings. The Sicilian Defense and English Opening come to mind. Keep your eyes open, you'll see it often.

Bear in mind that, as with many things, there is an upside and a downside. You mentioned a couple of the advantages. The disadvantage is that it often involves weakening the pawns. Castling on the fianchetto side means there are two weak squares near the king which possibly only the bishop guards. In that case, be hesitant to trade off (and careful not to lose) the bishop so long as your opponent can exploit squares of that color. Also, having the bishop posted on a long diagonal can be nice, but if the diagonal becomes blocked with pawns for the long term, the fianchettoed bishop may be of little use.

17... f6 would probarly have been better than 17... Bb4+ as it forks the knight on g5 and the bishop on e5. The bishop is also pinned to the queen, and it's always a good idea to attack a pinned piece.

29... h1=Q is quite a bad move as you only lose a pawn that has potential to become a queen. You should force him to defend the promotion and then attack him while he defends it.

37... a4# the mate is very nice :)

Agree on all fronts. To pick your brain a bit more, what do you think would be the best move instead of 29...h1=Q ?

 i agree

Unless I missed something, 29...b5! looks powerful. The point is that if White moves his knight, then 30...Ne3+ forks his king and rook and wins the exchange.

Wasabi_Kid, that does look good. After that white saves his knight with 30. Nd2 which also guards the rook in question so I would have traded knight for rook. Well spotted, I didn't notice that at all.

Though it was a dreadully unorthodox game, I really enjoyed the mate-net that he succumbed to. Very "intricate."