This is a recent OTB league game I played as white - 1hr 30mins each time controls.

We are both rated around 1800 at moment. As some of you may have guessed by the thread title I played the London System :)

What I would like some help understanding after 11.Re1 white seems to have almost everything he could dream for, yet when I ran game through engine (houdini) white only has small advantage and throughout the whole game - although I was always mostly slightly better, and mostly making the engines top 3/4 move choices (more often than my opponent) there were no tactical busts which seems strange as if i'm making what the engine thinks are good moves with no blunders I would have thought I would have out played him at some point and created some winning tactics - there just didn't seem to be anything.

The only thing that came out of the game in my favour was I had 35 mins left to my opponents 2mins in the end and he started to blunder and lost on time.

My question is, is this symptom of playing a passive openign or lack of technique - or both :) Your comments appreciated.

You thought you were much better... why?  "White has everything he could dream for" like what?  The e4 break?  You play it, exchanges happen, and the aftermath is you have the e5 square and... and what?  Black has the active idea of breaking up your queenside pawns.  I mean it's probably just equal but white has nothing special to undertake.  18...b4 makes the most sense and black gets a small amount of play.

In the game nothing really happened, there were some more trades, an endgame, and then black, somewhat hilariously to me, replaces his king with his rook for passive defense (this operation is completely backwards) and as punishment loses the game.

So a little bit of reading the pawn structure and knowing some basic endgame ideas (or just the relative value of the pieces, rook > king) would have gone a long way for black.

Anyway, that's my impression of the game.  Not sure what you're asking.  If you were up 30 minutes I guess black felt uncomfortable in the position and was taking a lot of time trying to figure it out (?)

Thanks, your probably right, I got my little setup at move 11 and expected more than was there.. I need more tactics I think I get bored in these positions..

What you should be asking is what did black do to deserve to be clearly worse and the answer as I see it is nothing.  He made reasonable moves.  I can easily see Houdini's assessment.  You make your e4 break and you have a little more space, maybe he has slightly worse weaknesses.