Annotated chess game

I notice Black is repeating the opening of an earlier game. That is a very good idea: to become familiar with the shape of the games that arise from your choice of opening. The Petrov/Petroff is good choice of opening, too, with a fairly straightforward development for both sides. One has to learn and beware of certain tactical nuances early on, though. See my comments in a previous goldmedal10 game.

Better are 3.Nxe5 ore 3.d4. This 3.h3 move doesn't do much to further White's game.

Developing the bishop was fine, but, unless you had good reason to induce White to advance a pawn, this is a square too far. Had a White knight stood at c3, then there would have been more point to it. Instead, though, 3...Bc5 would have been a fine move. Joe's suggestion, 3...Nxe4, also came into consideration.

Chases off the bishop. But more useful for White would have been 4.c3, with the view to following shortly with d2-d4.

White has FIVE ways to take this bishop, which is worth THREE pawns. Three pawns for one is scarcely a bargain, eh? Especially as there is no improvement in position or timing to show for it. Much better was 4...Bc5 or ...Ba5 or even ...Be7.

Now things are apt to get interesting after 6....Re8 or 6...d5.

Sensible, but Black had a wide choice of good, aggressive moves here: 6...Re8, ...Nxe4, ...and 6...d5. That last could have led to reasonable counterplay for Black by 6...d5 7.exd5 Re8 8.Qe2 ... (8.f4 is the only other move to protect the knight, whereat 8...Nxe4 threatens the nasty 9.Qh4ch) 8...Nxd5! and Black threatens 9...f6, winning back the piece. Although White retains a big advantage in this line, Black would be making a good fight of it.

Much, much better would have been 7...Nxe4 , which would have got a pawn back for the bishop. A minus-2 deficit is much better than a minus-6! Of course, White had played h2-h3 earlier to prevent any Black minor piece coming in at g4. Remember that pawns capture diagonally!

At least Blacks something from this exchange...

OK-ish, but I would have preferred 9...Re8, to attack the White e-pawn (which White would probably have defended by 10.Nc3); or, probably better yet, 9...Nc6.

The problem Black has, is that on top of his two minor piece advantage White has by far the more active army - all four minor pieces deployed, now, and an open file for the King's rook. Black's prospects are looking very bleak.

Makes good use of the previous move.