Was I seeing ghosts?

I’m not sure what this opening is or if it is even a real one but I felt like I was going into some kind of prep and played D3 which the computer says is a blunder. So I was ultimately confounded by the opening. Says I played decently after move 10. I did not discover a retreating queen move or a way to bring the knight into the game. I also blundered my clock. Any advice?

no ghosts but there was a big elephant in the room that got you unsettled from start to finish

I have heard that gambits are refuted by accepting them. If I took the pawn and then defended the queen pawn as if everything was normal would I have been perfectly fine? Granted I never faced that before, I find it to be so frustrating that I wasted so much time trying to figure out what the refutation was, what the trick was, and couldn’t find anything. Also looking at the engine lines even with that position it seems rather complicated to convert. I don’t think I left myself enough time.

"... 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d5 ... The Elephant Gambit ... White has to play carefully to benefit from any objective advantage. 3 exd5 ..." - GM Glenn Flear (2010)
He did not discuss 3...Bf5. Apparently, 4 Nc3, 4 Bc4, or 4 Bb5+ would all have been reasonable reactions.
In a 15|10 game like

@kindaspongey said in #4:

"... 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d5 ... The Elephant Gambit ... White has to play carefully to benefit from any objective advantage. 3 exd5 ..." - GM Glenn Flear (2010)
He did not discuss 3...Bf5. Apparently, 4 Nc3, 4 Bc4, or 4 Bb5+ would all have been reasonable reactions.
In a 15|10 game like lichess.org/lM7qQpzE
(as played ~21 hours ago), it is probably not a good idea to spend 43 seconds on one move, but I suppose that it is not likely to be the end of the world if it happens rarely. On the other hand, it seems like a recipe for disaster to play 23 moves (4-26) at an average rate of ~47 seconds per move. You actually had a considerable advantage at that point, but, apparently feeling compelled to average about 14 seconds per move subsequently, it is not too surprising that your advantage had become a disadvantage after the next 8 moves.

I don't know how to play faster. I'm trying to calculate and be accurate but lately I find it hard to actually visualize anything. Then I try to move faster and I'm already in a time deficit. Idk maybe I should play classical or try puzzle rush stuff

@YAYERZ said in #5:

... I don't know how to play faster. ...
For moves 27-34, you found yourself able to decide to play at ~14 seconds per move. It seems that you need to make a habitual (and less drastic) decision at a much earlier stage of your games. If you can play at ~47 seconds per move and at ~14 seconds per move, what is to stop you from doing something between those two?

I have heard that gambits are refuted by accepting them.

depends, if you want to ignore all that noise then ignore the gambit and play naturally, otherwise engine is your friend to deal with refutations and that will require do some homework

@YAYERZ said in #1:

played D3 which the computer says is a blunder.

It's a blunder because you could've played Nc3 which would protect your pawn while developing a piece. d3 does neither of those things and also blocks in your kingside bishop. It seems you got scared of ...Bf5, but that didn't even make a threat.

Also, a 10 second increment alone is more than enough to convert that position. I have trouble understanding your 34. Re2?? move since the queen was just there and nothing protects that square. I would say you actually managed your time fairly well, but just blundered your rook.

@AsDaGo said in #9:

Also, a 10 second increment alone is more than enough to convert that position. I have trouble understanding your 34. Re2?? move since the queen was just there and nothing protects that square. I would say you actually managed your time fairly well, but just blundered your rook.

Well I basically blundered the knight, panicked, started tilting and then blundered the rook. Its not like there was some ulterior motive with the moves @kindaspongey said in #6:

For moves 27-34, you found yourself able to decide to play at ~14 seconds per move. It seems that you need to make a habitual (and less drastic) decision at a much earlier stage of your games. If you can play at ~47 seconds per move and at ~14 seconds per move, what is to stop you from doing something between those two?

Yeah I guess I just have to make moves even if I can't visualize the consequences