Annotated chess game

e4 is strong, but not necessarily simple. Black can complicate the position as much as he wants through a variety of opening choices. In fact, e4 can lead to many complicated games. Many lines of the King's Gambit, for example, are just completely wild.

GA Analysis here! game

The Scotch Game is a solid opening, but tends to be drawish when both sides know what they are doing. Kasparov would play this, not because it is a good opening, but because it can be a good surprise weapon against an unprepared opponent.

Psychologically a good choice, though Joanne was not to know this. My record against the Scotch has been pretty good on GK, but middlegames have been perfunctory, to say the least! I didn't really want another middlegameless game, but... you get what you try and avoid...  

At the beginning of my chess career I often played the scotish openning in tournaments with sucess. It does have that element of suprise.

cuando soy negras a mi la escocesa me rompe las pelotas

A good alternative is 4.Nf6. If Black likes excitement and dangerous living, he could try Steinitz's old favorite: 4...Qh4!? I've tried it once on GK, myself...

But 5. Nb3 is probably best (if only very slightly). It attacks the Black bishop, forcing it to move a second time too. So the moving of the knight twice in such a manner is not harmful to White's position at all. In fact, in this instance is very helpful. Yet, 5. Be3 is good too. They are just two very different lines of possible play.

5...Bb6 was also playable, as in Spielmann-Tarrasch, 1912.

5....Bb6...Just because it is playable does not make it strong. ******** 5. ...Qf6 is strongest play for Black. An alternative that I might suggest to a player lower than expert is 5. ...Bxd4. Keep in mind however that the more you trade in an even position, the more drawish the position tends to become. That's why GMs tend not to trade unless they must.

That is arguably best. But an interesting line would be 6. Nb5 Bxe3 7. fxe3 Qh4+ 8. g3 and now Black could either take the e pawn or retreat his Queen to d8...because of the Knight threat to c7. Either way it would be a near even game, but perhaps more interesting.

Still book...

A more aggressive approach would be 7. Bb5. Regardless the importance of the bishop move is to allow the potential castle.

7. ...O-O was equally good for Black.

Good move. This seems to post date all the book theory I have available: one of Kasparov's innovations perhaps?

What happened to the principle of not moving a piece twice in the opening? This is an interesting and OK move (it may even have a lot of surprise value with it); but 8. O-O was probably better and certainly more in line with opening principles. If dxe4, then Nb5 attacking the c7 point idea again.

In order to develop the bishop without having my Q-side broken up. The alternative was 12...Be6 13.Bxb7 Rb8 14.Be4 Rxb2. Possibly I ought to have looked more closely at this line. At this point Black would have had a rook on the seventh, a threat against White's a-pawn, and slightly the more active game. After 15.Nc3 Bc4 (preventing castling!), White would have had some interesting problems to solve. So much for preserving my pawn structure!

I'd say what's interesting about this is that although the king looks pretty exposed, it's safer than it looks as there's no queen or dsb

It is clear that the IQP is something of a liability for White, but it is also true that White is defending it quite comfortably. I was beginning to feel that I had seriously misjudged the late middlegame and ending, and that a draw might be all that I was going to get out of this...

15. Rd2 is a wasted move. It is neither tactically necessary nor strategically sound. The purpose of the move is to prepare the advance of the isolated d pawn. The problem is that d5 is currently Black's strong point. White is playing catch up by counting controling pieces when this is unnecessary. White should be making actual progress than simply marking time. White needs to activate his rook more forcefully on the open e file instead. 15. Rhe1 is much more powerful and more flexible. I notice later in the game White made similar type wasted moves...allowing Black to eventually gain an advantage.

I agree with Lighttotheright. White should be thinking of a tactical strategy of either undermining Black's control of d5 or playing maybe h3 activating the king side.

I think I could have been a little more creative, here. 16...Nd5 is rather tame...