5.Nbxd2 is fine. 6.Qa4+ is dubious though. As in the game it just prompts Black to develop a minor piece to defend with tempo. If you must move the queen then 6.Qb3 is better because it temporarily pins Black's light squared bishop to defending the b7 pawn. 6.e3 is also good and is my personal preference as it defends the d-pawn, opens the path for your own light squared bishop to enter the game (probably to d3 where it can oppose the h6 knight's influence and eyeing the juicy h7 pawn Black's kingside knight is now neglecting (as opposed to it's position on f6)), speeding up your own castling option and leaving your queen to eventually move to c2 to set up a battery. This plan sidesteps Na5 tempo games from Black with 6.Qb3 although a3 might be a prerequisite to this plan if there is a knight on c6 threatening to go to b5. Hope those ideas help.
A Serious Attempt at Getting Better, Part 2
What i did notice:
Quick view from white side:
- Personally i think Qa4 was ok. You win the tempo back with Qa3 anyway(because you stopped him from castling).
- I don't like the quick e4 because your king is also in the centre, but it is playable i guess and it says a lot about playing style.
- e5 was good(his bishop is on c6 and out of play). Only you should have played e5 directly imo when he played Bc6.
- I don't understand your idea with Rc1(developing a piece?). Imo it is a waste of a move and you should have played something more concreet.
- When black plays Qd7, maybe it is a good idea to play Kg2 with the idea of h3 when he plays Qg4.
- 16. Bxg6 is a mistake because your bishop is a good piece and you loose control of the white squares. The bishop is very usefull in this position because it cannot only attack later on his king(nice diagonal), but you also might need it to defend your own position later with Bf1(Your king has some weak white squares around him).
- I don't like the move 17. Nh4 (What is the idea rather then attacking the Queen?). In the game later on you see this piece is out of play and not so good defended.
- After ... Nxg4 your game gets more difficult.
Things you maybe can improve:
- e4 was ok, but you maybe should watchj your king a bit more in other future games(it was not in danger here, but the fact you had the nerves to play e4 with your own king in the middle might get you into trouble in the future).
- Don't trade a piece so quickly, only do it when you really get an advantage. In this game youe traded Bxg6 and then Nh4 to attack his Queen(this is not enough compensation to trade your (very)good Bishop).
- At the end your Queen was a bit out of play.
- Maybe it was a good idea not to allow Qg4 to be played. After trading your bishop you became a bit weak on the King side on the white squares).
What i liked:
- Qa4 and then Qa3(maybe not the strongest idea in this position, but the fact you see pattern/idea this is a good sign imo).
- e5 was a really good positional move imo.
In overal a pretty strong game imo for your rating. You make a small plan(not always the right one), but it is better to play with one then without one ;)
Only thing i want to notice is you should NOT try to play too impulsive. I mean you see a small chance and you go for it, but it is the trick to look further. Most players play like this on this rating and they go for whatever they see first in the position, not looking to the opponent chances or to look for something better. Anyway gl =)
Awesome. Thanks for the analysis. Its funny, you mentioned an exact reason why I have been getting frustrated with myself a bit (ok, not frustrated, just aware). "Small plans" pretty much says it all. I have been playing such that I plan a few moves ahead, but never with a real strategy in mind, just trying to look for tactics, kind of. I am not sure how one really builds a positional advantage other than controlling the center. When you said 'controling the light squares', I understood, but I was certainly not aware of it during the game, hence the suspect exchange with the light squared bishop.
All in all, I think I need to get a better grip on the bigger plans and how they influence my game. I really appreciate the detailed analysis, both of you. This really is a helpful community.
Cheers!
You'll find that the trading pieces off pointlessly and the planning issues can be solved concurrently. Once you start coming up with a solid plans, you'll be loath to give up pieces because they will be integral part of your plans.
A good rule of thumb I heard from some strong players is "Don't initiate a trade that isn't forced or fantastic." One explained that your opponent's position is like a balloon, you want to keep building the pressure on it until it pops. By trading down without gaining anything, you are just releasing the pressure.
I got a few games in against 1600 and 1700+ opponents recently (went 1 and 3). Here is one of them. What could I have done better?
Cheers!