Hey, lichess. In this game, I had a significant edge in the middlegame, but I blew it easily. Can anyone provide some tips on what to do and what not to do in these kind of situations, and where I could have improved? I was black.
http://en.lichess.org/ZERSnsaAThanks and Cheers in advance!
Well, in the words of Lasker, "the hardest game to win is a won game". Based on my observations, maybe some study of the endgame and tactics would help. The things that you are experiencing may also be a matter of psychology. In any case, every chess player goes through these kinds of problems. I might come back here and give better advice when I'm a little more sober.
The puzzles on this site are really useful, studying positional chess theory has been helping me a lot too. Study positional theory and you'll know what imbalances to look for and how to take advantage of them. (pawn structure, good/bad bishops, central control, hanging pieces, one piece guarding many pieces, open files/half open files for rooks)
In this specific game it seems like you tried to start an attack on their king before you had a solid control of the center/a solid place for your attackers to attack from.