Annotated chess game

I don't like this very much for White.

Why not? This isn't bad.

I think that was some kind of gambit if i am not mistaking.

This is called the Centre Game, and it is not very good for White unless Black doesn't take the pawn, OR unless White does indeed intend a gambit of some sort. The problem with it is that after 2...exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 White finds that the best square for the Queen is e3, which can interfere with the mobilization of the Queen's Bishop. White can TURN the thing into a gambit by playing (in response to 2...exd4) 3.Nf3 or 3.c3 (possibly leading to a Danish Gambit). These gambits are quite playable, actually.

Not free...

I see what you mean

It might be free if White chooses a gambit. But then the cost of obtaining the pawn is that White gains a head start in development. The question then becomes one of whether White gets enough activity to balance against the loss of the pawn.

Here White can 'gambit' a pawn, that is give it away, for better development with 3.c3. I think that is better than this move.

What about the g7 pawn?

did think of it at time

With 3...Nc6 you could have chased the queen away immediately. The king was not in any immediate danger, so no need to protect it right now.

3 ...Nc6 is usually the best continuation, developping a piece and chasing away the queen at the same time.

At this point, 3...Nc6 is so strongly indicated that no other move seriously comes into consideration. After 4.Qe3 Nf6 Black has a fine game. (It might be objected that 5.e5 would occasion Black some inconvenience, but Black can get active piece play for a pawn by 5.e5 Ng4 6.Qe2 d6! [Black does not take the pawn, as 7.f4 will win a piece for White]. Now if 7.exd6ch Be6 8.dxc7 Qxc7, White has won a pawn, but Black's pieces are already very active, and he will quickly complete his development.

? better was Qxg7!

to take it in for next time.

Blitzkov is right, but after 4.Qxg7 Bf6 White has to retreat the queen and you can develop some other pieces so you'll have some compensation for the pawn.

After Qxg7 bf6 black has a strong open rook file so I'm not sure if I would have played it.

I'd probably take it. The problem for Black is that then his K-side would be so scrambled, he is unlikely to want to castle that side, even if and when he can. But castling Q-side will take at least 4 moves to arrange, and who knows what White can contrive in 4 moves? A possible continuation is 4.Qxg7 Bf6! 5.Qg3 Ne7 6.Nc3 d6 7.Bh6 ... putting short castling out of court for a long time to come. Meanwhile, White can castle long (8.0-0-0), bring out his K-side pieces really quickly, and then start battering Black's wounded K-side.

I like 4...Bf6 somewhat better, followed by 5...Ne7. The knight is badly placed here.

Why Nh6? This is bad, Nf6 is much better because it can move to more squares. I see Bxh6 gxh6 Qxh8+ and black can give up. Would not have happened with Nf6.

This is a very bad move

@schakertje - after 4. ... Nf6, 5. e5 is quite annoying. 4. ... Nc6, to drive the queen away, basically encourages 5. QxP, after which white can castle queenside and the open g-file mayn't be worth the pawn. Black's already in a bad way here; it's hard to suggest a way to untangle the position.

my plan was to castle king side soon so I had to get that knight out of the way.

Surprisingly, no one has shown the main reason why 4...Nh6 is so bad. It is terrible, and Black is pretty much losing thereafter: 4...Nh6 5.Qxg7! attacks N and R simultaneously (a fork) and Black can not save both. After, say, 5...Bf6 6.Qxh6 and she makes off with the booty. Also bad for Black is schakertje's suggestion, though this is more complicated: 5.Bxh6! Bf6! 6.e5! Nc6 7.Qe4 Nxe5 8.f4 gxh6 9.fxe5 Be7. What should Black have played instead? 4...Nf6 and if 5.e5 Nc6! 6.Qf4 Nh5!

At this moment 5.Qxg7 would really have hurt, because it also attacks the knight and the rook which can't be defended both at the same time. 5.Bxh6 also won a piece because if you'd take it back with 5...gxh6, he could take your rook with his queen (6.Qxh8).

What a blunder. Both sides miss the threat.

I see: l-d-j identifies both ways Black could (should) have got crunched...  

You can't capture the Q unless white lets you.

We would say this move attacks the Queen i.e. threatens to capture it.

??? Indeed,bad.

have to agree

whatt??

White is too engrossed in his own plans. He should always keep a weather eye out for what his opponent might be trying to do to spoil his party...

The game is effectively over now.

Well, as White would ideally want 3 Knights for the Queen, so Black could scarcely quibble about the 2 Knight's discount in this exchange!

9. Nb3 looks better (for what it's worth at this stage). It threatens the bishop, which must move again, and allows the rook more room along the third rank.

Objectively speaking that seems correct. However, Black could respond if he chose 9...Bxf2ch!? 10.Kxf2 Qf6ch 11.Kg1 Ng4 12.Rf3 Qxh4 13.Bf4 d6. The quick development of this K-side attack would just about be worth giving up part of the large material surplus Black enjoys.

9...d5 is a good move because your bishop on c8 attacks the rook on h3 so that rook has to move, after which you can develop more pieces. The bishop was OK and safe where it stood. But the strategy of getting rid of pieces is good when you are up in material.

Good plan.

Eh?