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After 6. Bg5 I used to have fun in quickplay games with 6.....Qa5. It isn't really any good though if white knows what to do against it.

I agree, in some lines Bxf6 is good, particularly if black wastes a tempo by h6, but in this position I don't think it is very strong.

there is no imperative to play Bxf6 without provocation given White's dark square weaknesses.

I thought the point of the exchange was to give immediate protection to c3 and e4. For that reason the exchange seemed rather better motivated than it might otherwise have seemed. I once had White in a position very similar to this, though obtained with a slightly different move order. The effect was the same as if I were to play 10.Be2 in this diagrammed position, and Black promptly sacced the exchange on c3! [(10.Be2 Rxc3!? 11.Qxc3 Qxc3 12.bxc3 Nxe4...] The result was an early endgame in which Black had just one pawn for the exchange, but a far better pawn structure. That I eventually won the game was not due to any unsoundness in Black's idea! Maybe better than 10.Bxf6 or 10.Be2? would have been 10.e5, localising Black's threats.

14. f5 is a noble attempt to improve on the above game, but it is not that much better. The e5 square is left weak - I had to decide whether I wanted to place bishop or rook on it.

Ideally you want to place pawns on the opposite color of your bishop.

Though I'm in broad agreement with the previous two, I do like the reasoning behind the move. Black wanted to play 14...f5. White's 14.f5 stopped it. Nimzovitchian prophylaxis. The thing is, is there any other improvement, if 14.Rad1 is considered inadequate? I think that Joanne's move might not be much improvement, but it doesn't seem worse either. But let's see what unfolds...

I would have tried retreating the knight while still possible.

Possibly the fifteenth move could be improved upon. Now, 15.Rf3 to keep the bishop out of e3 won't do on account of 15...Bd2. So maybe 15.Rad1 is called for. This isn't really a reversion to the "parent" game, since White has "got in" f4-f5.

Yes, although the b file is opened up for the rook, white's pawns are weak and the Bd3 is poor

White has real difficulties--a bad bishop and doubled pawns on an open file.

There's a kind of "Having said 'A' you must say 'B'" moment at move 18, I feel. The rook having gone to b1, there seems to be a lot in favour of 18.b4, threatening to continue on to b5, then the knight comes in at d5. I don't like 18.Rfe1 so much, because it really invites Black to exchange on c3, which isn't in White's interests. White is left with slightly the more broken pawn formation, and a rather passively placed bishop. All the same, the technical difficulties Black faces in getting more than a draw are considerable!

At White's 21st, 21.a4 looks very tempting, threatening 22.Bb5. 21...Bxa4 would be bad for Black on account of Rxb7. Black's best reply, 21...Kf8, looks good enough, though, since the c6-B would not be pinned after 22.Bb5. Maybe White would then have to play instead 22.Rb4. However, Black is threatening all the while to play ...Ra5, which will tend to write down one of White's rooks. So maybe the 21.a4 line was worth a serious look. Finally (back to the game continuation), instead of falling in with Black's plan to tidy up his central pawns, 22.Rf1 Ke7 23.R2f2 Bxe4 24.fxe6! fxe6 25.Bxe4 Rxe4 26.Rxf6 would seem to keep things close.

It may be defending 4 pawns, but really it is a horrible bishop. It has no mobility at all

The bishop has no more mobility than a pawn, although black must avoid overconfidence.

Yes Rf2 is a strong move

It seemed to me that Black has made quick progress over the last couple of moves. White could have adopted a dour, passive defence like 32.c3 Bxc4 33.Bxc4 Rxc4 34.Rbc2. Now a pawn down, White would have rid herself of her "bad" bishop and taken Black's "good" one ith it. Black would still have had a lot of work to do to realise the win.

White is fighting back well. Perhaps 39....a5 is an error. White achieves 7th rank absolute, in other words the white rook is on the 7th, permanently preventing my king from advancing up the board.

It was around about at this time my attention was drawn to this game. I thought Joanne had a reasonable fighting chance to draw this, having got herself a very active position for the cost of two pawns. Not that I told her this... At this point, it is very hard to see any improvement over 39...a5, given White's threat of 40.Rh7+.

I stopped and had a long think at this stage. I think that there is still a lot of work to be done, and white's best bet may be to ignore my attack on the e pawn and just push the h pawn again. I didn't really like the look of lines like 43. h5 Rxe4+ 44. Kf3 Re1 45. Kg2 Re5 46. g4 and white still has some chances of a draw

but black has also advanced his passed pawn....

I think Joanne went wrong at the 43rd move. The line suggested by charleshiggie in his previous comment keeps White in the fight, but I rather prefer 43.Kh5!? as also offering chances of attack: 43.Kh5 Rxe4 44.Rxb6 Kd7 (say) 45.Ra6 f5 (to bring the rook to g4) 46.Kg6!? (I dislike 46.Rxa5 Rg4 as the WK is left cut off on the h-file) ...Rg4+ 47.Kf6 Rxg3 48.Rxa5 f4 49.Ra7+ Kc6 50.Kxe6 Rh3 51.Kf4 Rxh4 52.Kg5 Rh1 53.Kxf4 Re1 54.Ra6+. This is just a sample line, and maybe both sides could find improvements, but in this line Black's win seems as far off as ever. Note that the King's advance to h5 broadens White's scope, retaining the (albeit slender) chances of promoting the h-pawn, but creating also prospects of bringing the WK in amongst Black's centre pawn phalanx. From its adavanced position, the WK might get the opportunity tho shepherd the h-pawn home. In the position White had at that point I feel sure I would have played 43.Kh5.

I don't think so, black has to move the king over to block the passed pawn, 46. Kg2 Kf8 47. h6 Kg8 and black seems to be winning easily

Black brings the king over to block the passed pawn, and retains passed pawns. White can't do anything to force the pawn to queen.

I don't think the move played deserves the two queries - or even just one. There isn't really a whole lot to choose between the move played and 46.Kg2. Of course, White can hope Black will throw away the win by 46.Kg2 a3?? 47.h6! and there's no way to stop the h-pawn except by a perpetual (47...Rb2+ 48.Kg3 Rb3+ 49.Kg2! - not 49.Kh4?? Rb1! - etc). But 46...Kf8 47.h6 (Ra7!?) Kg8 48.Rg7+ Kh8 49.Ra7 and White's counterattack has been held to a standstill. Since 46.Ke2 don't look at all enticing, only the text move remains...

I rather think I would have carried on here a little longer, Joanne. Consider this plausible line: 50.Rxb6 Rxh6 51.Rxd6 Ke7 52.Ra6 Rh4 53.Rxa3 Rxe4 and White has the technical task of winning with split pawns. The main line suggested still offers something to play for after 50.Rxb6 Ke7 51.h7 a2 52.Ra6 etc. For one thing, White still remains some means of resistance, and for another even if you did lose you would have found out quite a lot about attacking and defending this type of ending. Having said that, I'm impressed with the overall quality of your resistance in a difficult game. I think charleshiggie would agree he had to work for his win!

Yes I did have to work hard for the win, but come on ionadowman, would you really play on in this position if you were also playing someone more than 200 grading points above you?