Originally posted by KazetNagorra
Where did I throw away the win?
My thoughts...
4. ... Bf5
a natural move but a mistake.
Black should play
4. ... dxc4 e.g. 5. a4 Bf5, 6. e3 e6, 7. Bxc4
6. e3
White should play 7. Nd2 (a standard recommendation here). THe idea is to threaten e2-e4 so one of Black's pieces has to move. The other one will also get bumped when White does advance the king's pawn. Black is getting pushed back so White has the edge.
Compare the position after 6. e3 to the line I give in the previous note ... It's exactly the same except for:-
White pawn is still on a2 - probably in White's favour
White bishop still on f1 - clearly he'd rather have it on c4
Black pawn not yet on e6 - Black has lost a tempo
Black knight on d5 rather than f6 - in Black's favour.
These add up to your position not being quite as good as the standard line in the first note (mainly because you've lost a tempo with your bishop) and therefore you're unlikely to have any advantage at all now.
7. Be2
I think I'd be tempted to play Bd3 here. Black's bishop is just too good so White probably has to accept the trade of his better bishop. White's playing for equality here so probably has to put up with such things
7. ... Bb4
I don't think this is the right idea beacause it makes a trade of dark squared bishops more likely - which Black would like to avoid because White's is stuck behind the d4 and e3 pawns.
9. Nxd5
Nice one. You're getting rid of you're bad bishop and trading off Black's better knight all with one stone!
11. Nxd2
I don't like this though. 11. Kxd2 must be better. The king's not in danger so the centre is where he wants to be. You're about to castle which just means that later you'll need to waste several moves bringing him back to where he could be now. Also Kd2 allows White to play Bd3 and trade those bishops. Finally 11. Nxd2 takes the knight from a good square (where it controls e5) and puts it on a worse one.
After 11. Kxd2 I think WHite is a little better. As played it's just equal at best again.
11. ... exd5
I'm not sure about this. It may be better to take back the other way. You're about to miss a chance to put Black under some annoying pressure.
12. 0-0
I think White should be playing Nb3, Kd2 (Bd3) and Rhc1. You should be playing on the queenside here.
The pawn structure is now identical to that which you get with Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation. White can now play for a minority attack. Essentially this means advancing your a and b pawns (you've got 3 against 4 on the q-side which is why it's a minority attack) and swap them for two of black's pawns. If this is, say, the a and b pawns Black will be left with a sickly pawn on c6 and a nice hole for your pieces on c5.
This all may not be enough to win but certainly you can pin him down (rooks to the c-file, knight on c5) and Black will never be able to break loose and win. Essentially White would then be playing with the draw in hand.
Incidentally, you may well want to support your queenside advance with a rook on b1 - which is another reason why you needed to trade that pesky bishop on f5.
13. Rac1
Wrong rook - see above.
14. a4
Black's reply will blockade your pawns and you'll never be able to get them going.
16. Bd3
Better late than never! Still, swapping bishops this way is not as good for you as earlier options - because the rook is not well placed on d3 and will have to move again.
22. ... Ree8
Not sure what Black is up to here. Why this rook is going to a8 is completely beyond me. It's not as if White can attack a5 some more. Black's just wasting time.
28. Kd3
White king's just made it back to the centre - see what I mean about the time wasted?
35. g4
Advancing the g and h pawns may not be the right idea. dxc5 straightaway may be an improvement.
38. Rc4
Were you playing to trade rooks? I'm not sure if that's the right idea
42. ... Kxe4
A mistake I think.
... Kf4, ... Kxg4, ... Kxh5 and queening the g5 pawn saves time and seems to win for Black - which is why I think you should have thought twice before trading rooks. You had good chances to draw the rook ending.
44. a5
Must be a mistake. (btw - I'm not convinced that the previous few moves were accurate either but they need a closer look)
here. 45. Kxb4 must be a better choice.
45. ... fxg4, 46. a5 g3, 47. a6 g2, 48. a7 g1=Q,49. a8=Q+
You have much better drawing chances in this ending than in the game as played because you've got one pawn less to lose on the k-side