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I dont like bringing my lsb out to c4, it will be one of the first pieces gone. seems too important for that

Even stronger I think than 3.Bc4 is 3.d4! The threat is 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8ch Kxd8 6.Nxe5 with a strike at f7. Probably Black's best in response would be 3...Nd7 (Hanham Defence), but 3...Bg4 used to be tried. It was this line that led to Paul Morphy's famous win at the Opera: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf3 7.Qb3 Qe7 (See how already Black is dancing to White's tune. White could win a pawn here by 8.Qxb7, but figures he could do better, given that Black's K-side is so bottled up already) 8.Nc3 c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5! cxb5 11.Bxb5ch Nbd7 12.0-0-0 d8 (Now comes the final [final!] all out attack) 13.Rxd7! Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7ch Nxe7 16.Qb8ch Nxb8 17.Rd8#.

3...h6 is weak, it doesn't do anything. I would play 4.d4 immediately, but what you did is also good. #ionadowman: yes I like 3.d4 as well, 3...exd4 is probably correct, or 3...Nf6 and if 4.dxe5 Nxe4.

I think it was unnecessary to retreat to d1 with your queen. d3 was maybe a better square because now your knight is pinned. I think you have a better position thanks to your space advantage and Black's weak d-pawn.

In this sequence, I quite like the look of 8.e5 (instead of 8.h3). The idea is that if 8...dxe5 9.Qxd8ch Kxd8 10.Nxe5, threatening 11.Nxf7ch and 11.Nxg4. Alternatively: 8...Bxf3? 9.Qxf3 with attacks on f6 and b7. It was just as playable at move 9.

I think it was not a good move to exchange on c6. Now Black can get rid of his weak pawn by playing 12...d5!.

Maybe to open the e-file for his rook. I think both players were missing an important finesse in this position: the weak backward pawn on d6. White can play to win it and Black should get rid of it by playing ...d5.

At move 14 I prefer Nh4, with the idea of Nf5, or maybe take the g6-Bishop. Black's 15...bf8 move quite often appears in the Philidor Defence by way of a regrouping, and redeployment to g7. That will be a bit hard to arrange here, on account of the Bishop on g6. Does he really want the Bishop pair to be standing at g7 and h7?

You probably wanted to take exd5 but realised your pawn was pinned to your queen.

I think I prefer 18...Qa5...

Oops...

Hard to fathom why the White Knight didn't go to c4...

Nicely spotted. Black is probably trying to break up your castle with ...a4.

Presumably it protects a2. Possibly White might have been better served to have tried 30.Qa4, matching the BQ's move.

Is it? What is against 36...Kh7? If then 37.Nxc8 Qe1ch 38.Rc1 Bxc1 39.Qxc1 Qxc1ch 40.Kxc1 Rxc8 and Black keeps his piece for two pawns extra. Same goes for 36...Kf8.

See my previous note. White can survive that attack, but Black retains the edge.