(!) Good move. This just about puts the kibosh on any mating prospects White might have had based upon Re8ch.

No you hadn't. 31...Bf5 is a good move in fact because you force an even exchange (you both lose a bishop) and exchanging is good if you are up in material. The exchange is forced because otherwise you would get his knight on h7 for free.

I agree with l-d-j. Hence my (!) by way of comment last move.

I don't know what you're trying to say in the last two comments?

I will be more clear next time.

White is threatening a check by 34.Re8 which would (if it were White to play right now) win Queen for Rook with an interesting endgame, probably favouring White, in prospect.

(!) Excellent. Game over.

The best White could do. Else [A] 34.Kf2 Qxh4ch 35.Kf1 Qxg5; or [B] 34.Kg1 Qd4ch 35.Kh2 (else 35.Kf1 Ng3#) ...Qxh4 and wins the Rook at e1.

Simplest is 34...Ng3ch 35.Kf2 Nxe2 and White is left with no threats and no play and a Queen and million pawns down.

What's your plan here? The last few moves look like you don't really understand any basic mating or attacking patterns. You can't mate with one piece, for example. You need to cover white's mating threat first (say, ...g6) and then start pushing the four queenside pawns. White will surely have to give up ruinous material to stop the pawns getting in.

I am still learning how to both of that.

When unsure how to proceed, there's nothing wrong with prodding and probing - Black can afford that here. But be careful not to allow a threefold repetition, which is a draw if claimed correctly. In the situation in this game, Black also has to watch out for Re8ch. So to play safe, he might have to think about playing ...g6 at some point to obviate any possibility of a nasty shock at e8.

You should have played 37...g6.

Well, there you go. Safe was ...g6 (which, by the way, could not be played whilst the Black Queen stood at c5. Why not, do you suppose?). But Black could also have back tracked a little by 37...Qc3ch with these possibilities: [A] 38.Kd1 Ne3ch forcing 39.Rxe3 Qxe3 and winning; or [B] 38.Kf2 Qd4ch 39.Ke1 (Kf1, Ng3ch etc) ...Qxh4ch, ...Qxg5; or [C] 38.Kf1 Nf3ch etc; or [D] 38,Rd2 Qc1ch 39.Ke2 Qc4ch and if 40.Ke1 or Kf2, Black's Queen checks at h4 and wins the g5-Knight. or else 40.Kd1 Ne3ch 41.Ke1 Qf1#.

OUCH!!! What a pity. You were winning against a much higher rated player.. And then this happens.

Yeah

A sudden end to a very remarkable game. Good on you for annotating this: it is a game rich in ideas and possibilities. True, it was a game of lost opportunities, but the thing to take away from this is that there were lots of opportunities. They come about only when players are prepared to chance their arm. At that, playing opponents slightly above your rating (at this level I don't think a 400 ELO difference is inconsistent with 'slightly above') is likely to present opportunities, and playing sharp (i.e. tactical) openings will ensure that you do get games with plenty of opportunities. Definitely a 4-star game for mine! ________________ Please accept my apologies for my use of the masculine pronouns for Black. I do forget to check people's profiles for this when kibitzing...