15...Bxb2 is an improvement, but in the Bxc4 line he gave you another pawn -- why not 16....Bxa2 and unless I'm missing something I don't think he has tactics to punish that second pawn grab. At first17...b3 looks troublesome but I don't think it actually has any teeth -- you end up three pawns ahead and he has no compensation.
You may be right, but I think 16.b3 (instead of Ncd4) limits the damage
No doubt... I'm confident your suggestion, 15.Bxb2, is a real improvement... I was only pointing that in the game as played (with 15...Bxc4 followed by 16.Ncd4?! rather than b3) he had 16...Bxa2 -- mostly I wanted to show that the defensive resource -- 17.b3 -- doesn't work.
My friend perceives chess as a game of gamble. Literally... He plays a lot better when there is a lot of money at stake. Sometimes, I lose without even knowing why. I think it's distraction. Not the decoying and diverting but literally distracting me in the middle of a game.
One day, he decided to take it up a notch. He bet 10 pesos over a game with the time set at one hour each. Fortunately, I had my ipod with me so I won. Yet, I can't shake off the feeling that (even though I'm concentrating with all my might) I still messed up somewhere. I played as I normally would have. (and normally, I play bad). Here is the game: