Need help w/analysis/thanks everyone. :)

My 12 year-old son played a rated game with a friend of his whose rated about 600-700 points higher than he is. He might be playing another rated game with him tonight and could really use some insight.

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help. :) :) :)

The annotation is my son's:

Your opponent was probably going to move his knight away to clear the e-file, playing f4 just gave him a tempo. After g4 you opened the e1-h4 diagonal for his queen to penetrate into. Lastly make sure all your sacrifices won't lose material before playing them.

Okay, thanks for that I will tell him. :)

Anyone else have any other ideas?

The advice I would give him is CASTLE!! And the Fork Trick is ok in certain positions but it does lead to tactically sharp positions. I would just continue development next time, castle, play d3 followed by bishop to e3 to deal with black's dark square bishop. He will get a more solid game and can focus on the king side while black tries to make progress on the queen-side. Tell him Good Luck!

5. Nc3 is not considered best (but perfectly playable).

5. O-O is usually thought to be more accurate. Black can take the e-Pawn, but attempts to hang onto the extra Pawn will usually get crushed.

Example:

Thank you so much guys! It really is so nice that you take the time to help him out. :)

Let us know how he does. I love playing the white side of this opening and it would be fun to have a fresh discussion on the topic.

Absolutely, if he plays him I will post his game! Thanks, again. :)

If it was "Son vs. Friend" I suppose tonight it will be "Friend vs. Son"?

So all tips regarding the opening are irrelevant right now.

Ormiston's advice is sound. Get your king out of the way before you open up the position.

They are two separate tournaments so he might get white, again. But thanks for the confirmation. He once drew this friend but the friend said he was sick that day, lol! He would really like to do well against him. :)

Tartacover (IIRC) once claimed that he had never beaten a healthy man.

That's funny!

14. h3 is risky, because it loosens the defense of the Kingside.

Thanks inferno impact, he's already at the tournament but I'm sure he'll find your analysis very helpful once he returns. Thank you for going to all that trouble. :)

Thanks so much, everyone, for all your help. Here's the update:

Last night, the friend wasn't there, however, he did win one of his games! He lost as black to two players, one in the 1300's, one in the 1500's. He won his game as white, using the same opening against a player in the 1800's. My son (rated in the 900's) never won against someone that high! It was a good night. :)

900 beat 1800!? That's incredible really. Your son must have a lot of potential. Nice job!

Perhaps, he underestimated my son. The 1800 got up a lot during the game while my son stayed at the board, thinking and calculating. His opponent got into time trouble and had only 2 seconds left on the clock when he was checkmated.

Maybe but your son check mated him. That's pretty cool. Can you maybe post his game(s)?

Sure, I'll ask him to post them. It will be probably sometime tonight. :)

Sorry to take so long; the kid has been busy, lol! Be kind in your comments; he's still learning and he knows the 1850 made a big mistake. :)