Steady decline. How to improve?

I am playing for a while in this site, and have also spend some time with tactics trainer. My problem is, I am getting beaten very easily . I think my openings are adequate for my level, but in the middlegame I have no plans, except putting out the a3 and h3 pawns to prevent fianchetto. In the very high rated game I attach, things were more smooth, although I never had an advantage.
Any tips on how to proceed on the middlegame?
In this game the "Learn from your mistakes" tells me to capture the pawn, giving up a part of my centre. How do I know when to do it?
Also, I feel no way to attack after a moderately solid beginning.Any attacking tips? (Ignore my obvious blunder moves especially in 3-0 games)


Thanks in advance!

Sometimes I say Blitz makes the good ones better and the bad ones worse.

Although I basically recommend blitz as a trainings tool I suggest using other methods as well. Books, clubs, classic games.

This whole online business sometimes lacks depth meaning superficiality. Try to use „classic“ training as well.

PS: I play never, never, never periods shorter than 5 min.

Thank you sir very much for your kind insight. Is there any specific resource you recommend for beginners to avoid middlegame mistakes? I am playing for long so I think my opening is not very bad for beginners.

You must play slower, especially at the begin of the game.
This was a 5+4 time control. That means you have average 9 seconds per move assuming a 60 moves game.
After your blunder 12 Ne2? your position is lost and you still have 5 minutes left. You played the first 12 moves way too fast.
Fianchetto is the development of a bishop with ...g6 and ...Bg7 so that it controls two central squares d4 and e5.
You play moves like a3 and h3 to prevent pins by the bishop like ...Bg4 and ...Bb4. Now that is generally no good idea. A bishop is stronger than a knight, so you can gain time by kicking the bishop around with a3 and h3 after you have allowed ...Bb4 or ...Bg4. Generally there is no need to fear the bishop pin. There are exceptions, but not here.
I can understand 6 h3 to prevent ...Bg4 and ...Ng4 and to prepare a later g4 to attack his weakening ...h6, but 10 a3 is just loss of time. The centralising 10 Ne5 was stronger. For attack and defence always play in the centre.

Thank you sir! I will try to play more carefully and with more time in the future!

@Rob420 #1
In the game you gave as example, you blundered material pretty soon, after it basically was a matter of time to lose the game.
You probably need :
1) To make sure to do the capture&check checks at each move to prevent blundering material.
2) Read more chess books, watch more chess videos.
3) Work on generic opening rules and ideas and your chess understanding (e.g. rules of thumb like : develop light pieces first, the initiative is worth a pawn, don't play a2a3 and h2h3 too often when it is not needed etc.)
4) Analyse your own games, preferably with a stronger opponent, chess buddy, or chess coach.
5) Find a good balance between playing and training/study.
6) Focus on slow time control with correspondence chess, and Rapid and Classical.

Lichess has a beginner sections for chess videos :
lichess.org/video?tags=beginner
Watched them ?
And did you go through all of this already ?
lichess.org/learn#/

Good luck, and have fun !

@Rob420

I tried to do "Learn from your mistakes" from your game and I understood what you meant. So: the 12 dxc5 move is not the only one on the quiz.solution. If for example you try with 12 Qd2 you find out that the answer to the quiz is correct in the same way. In other words, your idea of keeping central pawns is not wrong. Developing the Queen and connecting the towers was still fine. Obviously, the move you played in the game was wrong because you lose the bishop (c5-c4

Learning chess is very much akin to cryptology ... the broad science of codes and ciphers; making them, studying them.

The mind begins as a clean slate; to be filled with the necessary information to break a riddle. A closed mind is the enemy.

How to improve? Forget everything you know. Start fresh. Of course, this is almost impossible once bad habits become ingrained. We are content, comfortable to press on, unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices. Human nature. We all are afflicted as such.

I think it is comparable to other such endeavors, being either physical or mental challenges.

I am an expert swimming coach and can quickly recognize when someone is "fighting" the water. Techniques can be improved upon, but this will only take them so far. If they want to "master" swimming; become comfortable in the water, they must forget everything, start again as if 5 years old. Learn the basics, how to breath, how to float, how to relax. This insight I think is applicable to chess. But again, many people are perfectly content to remain in their niche, such drastic measures are uncalled for.