How to Reach 1800, part 3

This is 3rd part on my series on how to go from 1600 to 1800. I'm analyzing a game from a 1700 who shared one of his instructive losses, and I'm analyzing the top 5 mistakes I saw in the game. If you prefer to learn from a video lesson, you can see this content in my YT channel as well.
Here's the annotated game in full. I'll discuss the key moments in the following sections.

Error #1: Routine Opening Moves, Missed Opportunities

In this rating range it's very common for both sides to make significant inaccuracies in the opening stage. That's particularly true when one side deviates from forcing lines (giving more room to make decisions, and inaccuracies of course). Black missed three main points:

1. There was a big opportunity to play 5...b5!!, which would have been excellent, though extremely hard to find in this rating range.
2. The standard setup with 5...g6, 6...Bg7, 7...Nge7, 8...d5 would have been better too
3. The moves ...Qc7 and ...Bd7 were sort of "routine moves" which don't help that much if White did not open in the center with d4 and ...cxd4

Error #2: Ignoring Opponent's Pieces When Making Decisions

One critical moment came when Black played 11...e5. That pawn push allows f4-f5, which can be a bit dangerous, but it's not a fundamentally wrong idea. However, it does not work well in this particular position because of White's knight on c3 and bishop on a2. I feel Black made the decision to push without taking into account how it favors the opponent's pieces in their current location.

Error #3: Not Simplifying In a Worse Position

The first prerequisite to playing a worse position well is knowing we're worse. That way, we can correct what's wrong. For example, in the game Black had a space disadvantage and a potentially vulnerable king. Those are two excellent reasons to trade pieces, so the move 13...b5? was a mistake just because it seems to focus on expanding rather than neutralizing. Trading on f3 would have been simpler and more effective.

Error #4: Choosing the Worse of Two Evils

The position was definitely worse by move 16th, but still Black could have chosen a safer continuation. The choice was between 16...Bf8 un-developing the bishop, and 16...Kf8 losing castling rights. In reality, I think it was unrealistic to hope for castling at this point, so Black should have just played ...Kf8 and the king isn't that unsafe.

Later in the game there was another instance, where Black could have solved all their problems for just one pawn, but instead decided to hold on to the equal material while keeping an unsafe king with lots of weaknesses. It's necessary to develop the skill to choose between unpleasant positions.

Error #5: Playing Actively When We Should Be Defending

I often hear players tell me they did something because the position was too passive, and they wanted to fight back. While I agree that activity is a good objective, it needs to be applied carefully. Playing actively is fine as long as you don't introduce brand new vulnerabilities. If you do, sometimes "staying put" is the right strategy.

Closing Thoughts

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