Annotated chess game

These are not doubled pawns because your opponent will capture back. If not, you can play bxa5 of bxc5 and win a pawn.

erase from your mind all fears of doubled pawns. If pawns are to capture anything early in the game, the likelihood is doubled pawns. They have their downsides, sure, but they have their uses, too: controlling squares, and leaving open files for the rooks are just two. Having said that, White might have been better of closing down the Q-side by 11.c4, then regrouping by Qe2, Nb2, Nd1, Ne3, d3; or d3, h3, etc.

Black now has a distinct edge, here. That half open a-file is an asset for Black, who is now threatening ...Bd7. The knight pretty much would have to move to b2, upon which Black can think about besieging the a-pawn. In the light of that, White's next is understandable.

An energetic attempt to break out of the constraints imposed by Black.

Black is mobilizing quickly in response to White's attempts to free her game. This is good stuff.

Protects e4, which Black's developing move brought under attack. Black now has a useful central break by 15...d5 16.exd5 Nxd5 (Preferably not 16...Qxd5, though, on account of 17.Nc3! attacking the Queen, and discovering an attack on the Queen's Rook as well: 16...Qxd5 17.Nc3 Qb7 18.Rxa8 Qxa8 19.Nxe5ch Kf8 20.Nxg4 Nxg4).

The knight should have moved to c6, where it can move to the hole at d4

This 'break' won't do. Not only does White lose a pawn,. but Black's centre becomes very strong now, particularly on the dark squares. Furthermore, White has correspondingly weaked her own hold on the central light squares. Better might have been to resolve the tension on the d1-h5 diagonal by 16.h3.

The better way to take, even though White's b-pawn becomes 'passed.' 16...exd4 would have been less solid.

It is hard to find a decent move for White, now. But the e-pawn required protection, which indicates 17.Re1 or (my preference) 17.Qd3.

A bit of a toss-up between this move and ...Nxe4.

A straightforward miscalculation.

Simplest. Black could have gone in for the much more complicated 18...Rxa3!? 19.Bxa3 Qxb6 20.Qb3ch e6 -(NOT 20...Be6 21.Ng5ch!) 21.Ne5ch Ke6 22.Nxg4 hxg4 23.Rb1 Rb8 (or, if Black is into low cunning, 23...Qc7 24.Bxb4 Qxh2ch 25.Kf1 Rb8). Would I have gone in for the more complicated line? Probably not.

The only good rook move I can find is 19.Rxa8! Instead, 19.Rb3 Be6 would have forced the rook to move back to a3.

After 19...dxe3 20.fxe3 Qxe3ch White's game would have been in a sinking condition, with mate imminent (21.Kh2 Nd3).

The situation has got to the point at which bad moves are much easier to find than anything remotely good. White's 'best' was probably 20.Rb3, and that's just horrible, after 20...Nxe4.

I think jkarp means 20...dxe3. True, that would have been much better, but Black must still be winning.