It felt good to slow my thinking down and make solid moves once I knew that I had the advantage. I was thankful to survive a rocky opening.

7...Nc6 It's funny how the knight is the "go to" piece when a player is looking to simply develop. I've got to be on the look out for pins which complicate my development. Probably 7...Be7 and O-O avoids trouble.

13. Qh5 I was expecting a queen trade, but that probably trades away White's attacking chances.

16. Nd4 Gives Black counterplay which defuses the attack.

17...Bxh5 and Black goes up the exchange. Black has an opportunity to go up a piece by taking time for 17...Bf6, protecting the bishop and guarding against the royal fork. White's queen is still attacked and must now retreat to h3 (18. Qh4 is met with h6). Take the g5 knight and trade queens.

21...a5? 21...f6 works.

23...Rcd8 Simplifies. The computer found another possibility in 23...Rce8 24. Nd3 Re2 25. Rxc7 Rfxf2 (knight cannot recapture because of back-rank mate).

I felt confident in the endgame. I should have taken the opportunity to trade the rook for the knight one move earlier, but otherwise, I think I played accurately.

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Can I make a friendly request?

If you watch this video, please give it a rating. Next to written comments, this is the best form of feedback for us video-posters. It's just nice to know that people are watching the video! But it's also a good motivation towards making the next video even better.

Thanks!

-BoyHowdy

Hi BH,

good to see you playing longer games & trying other variations (classical).

I've been trying to learn the french and watching your videos is helping my understanding along with reading John Watsons "play the french".

Listening to your reasoning is a big plus for this beginner

I look forward to your next video.