One of my early games

Here is one of my games from August where I try to be less aggressive than normal and end up getting walked on.

What can we learn here? Don’t be afraid of even exchanges. A bishop for a bishop is a pretty even exchange, and even better if, for example, it removes your opponent’s active bishop and your weak bishop or frees you to gain a space or position advantage. Black’s opening was good until move 9 where my unwillingness to exchange the bishops gave White the material advantage, after which Black never recovered.

There were also the assorted blunders and missed opportunities on both sides, such as 22… Bd6, after which Black should have resigned.