Annotated chess game

Not the best. This hems in the DSB.

I don't agree about this hem in the Bc1. Hem from what I learned means completely block, and white can still develop it. Interestingly enough, I once played this first same move when I was first learning the game since black plays 1...e6 But, I was told that 1.e3 is not great for white, if that's the reason for doing so. But, it's not that bad, either. However, the most common move is 1.e4

Actually, Erica, this is not 'normal', though it is easy to imagine it might be. It's called the Van't Kruijs Opening. It has been alleged that as it will almost certainly transpose into other openings - possibly with 'colours reversed' - this opening has no independent significance. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with it, apart from its apparently unambitious appearance.

This, however, is best.

This is now a French Defence with colours reversed and White having an extra tempo. That extra tempo permits White to transpose into other things, e.g. 2.c4 for a Sicilian Reversed.

Wonderful! A gambit! But after something like this: 2...Bxb4 3.c3 Be7 4.d4 d6!? 5.Nf3 e4 6.Nd2 d5 7.c4 c6 White hasn't really got enough central superiority to offset the pawn deficit.

Possibly not the best option. Instead, 2...Bxb4 won a pawn and developed a piece, all in one move.

This is not so good white. Better is to continue with his development. I would've played 3.Nf3 as then, he can follow up by bringing his Bf1 into play, which brings him one step closer to castling.

A good move here to disconcert black would be 3.b5.

A point about development: Black is racing to get her pieces out quickly - in principle, the correct plan. But if presented with the opportunity for a quick gain, it is 'permissible' to let development wait upon that gain. A case in point is the loose White b-pawn. Even so ...Bxb4 would lose time only if White attacked the bishop. But winning a pawn is usually worth more than the loss of a tempo, anyhow. The reason you don't 'grab' with a queen early on is that it often loses more than a single tempo.

Good move. Why? It saves the pawn. As it forces Black to lose some time, it loses White no time. Wherever the knight goes, it will be a disruption to Black's development. I'd even suggest 4...Nb8 here as less disruptive than other options.

? This loses the knight. Na5 is the best. *note to jkarp* After ...Nb4, c3! and not only is the knight attacked, d4 is a ominous threat.

?? This is not a fork. A fork is when two pieces are attacked by one piece. lake-bay is correct, but I give two question marks for the reason he posted. It doesn't, but it should lose the Knight. However, I disagree about 4...Na5 being the best move because the Knight is on the rim which is not where you want it. Instead, 4...Nb4 was best where the Knight is now in a good spot, and if white attacks with 5.Ba3, you 5...Nd5 keeping the Knight centralized. With that being said, what should white do? It is ominous, lake-bay. All I meant is that I would still play 4...Na5, and if 5.c3 5...Nd5 If white were to continue with 6.d4, I'd answer with 6...e4 But, it is a more complicated variation then just retreating the other way. And, there might be something in that line which I'm missing. So, I now agree that 4...Na5 was the way to go.

Not a 'fork' A 'fork' is a move in which a single piece or pawn attacks two (or more!) pieces or pawns, and usually applies only if neither attacked piece or pawn has adequate protection. Note that the 'fork' is just one type of double attack. Skewers, pins, masked batteries, discovered attacks, are all in their way double attacks. Note, too that sometimes the object of attack can be a vital square, regardless of what - if anything at all - might be standing on it.

The solution was 5.bxc6! winning a Knight for Pawn.

Yes. And, this stopped white from winning the Knight.

This was the best way to recapture, btw, since 7...dxc6 was also an option. But, this way, you've captured towards the center which is generally what you want to do.

This also supports d5.

This is not a good move, as it does nothing to mobilise White's pieces. What makes it worse is that the h-pawn has already been moved once. In this situation, I would try 8.d4, with the idea 8...exd4 9.cxd4 Bb4ch 10.Bd2 Bxd2ch 11.Qxd2 attacking the rook on a5. Black need not play in quite such a cooperative fashion, but the net effect is that White could yet have come away with a playable game. The knights can be quickly developed to f3 and c3.

But, we're only at the beginning of the game. There's still a lot going on here.

I am surprised that after 8 moves White has 0 pieces developed and Black has 2 developed. Much needs to be learned about development. btw the development edge means black is winning here.

I was about to say that Black has the better of it, even after this not-very-useful pawn move. Much better would have been 8...d5! Why? First, it seizes the lion's share of the centre. Second, it opens up a line for the queen's bishop. Sure, that bishop could develop usefully via a6, but I'd be reluctant to leave the a5-rook without a retreat, even though there is no immediate danger to it.

Frees a square for the queen's knight, so that is something.

Correct was d5! and black has an edge.

I agree with lake-bay, but that initiative is small. The only advantage is that you'd undouble, and thereby, reconnect your pawns after something like 10.cxd5 cxd5, but every small advantage counts.

Agree: lake-bay is correct: the ...d5 advance was preferable. But this ...c5 advance does have its points. I wouldn't criticise it too hard.

Much too weakening, and inhibits the development of his King's knight.

?? This hands over a rook.

?? Yes. Just about anything was better then this move. With that being said, lake-bay is correct, if your opponent follows up correct. What should white do, Erika?

'Here have a free rook - no strings attached.' Not even 10...Ba6 would have been a very safe option after 11.d3 as White would be threatening 12.Bd2, attacking the stranded rook! Instead, I might have been inclined to conquer the centre by 10...c6 and 11...d5. Other options were ...d5 immediately, ...Bb7 or ...Be7, all reasonable moves.