16. Qf4 is an awful move better is f4

17.... Bh6 wins material for Black

18. Rxg6 just loses to fxg6 there is no mate threat as Qe7 takes care of everything

Yea, unfortunately I found all that out a bit too late. I didn't play particularly well this game at all. I had the same mental lapse as my opponent by playing Rxg6.

Nice game...there were some missed tactical shots by both players and even a missed mate in one which was amusing to see it missed..=)

46. Rd7#

I think ...g6 is actually a move that's played from time to time. Although I don't know how the line goes, and I, like most players, prefer the main line.

The idea is ...Bf5 and ...h5, I believe. Which means that since you're preventing it with Bd3, black really needs to respond to Bd3 with dxe4, otherwise I think you have an advantage. But again, maybe I don't know the theory here.

h4 was an interesting move. Seems like a logical plan. I don't think you need to worry too much about ....Bg4. Especially since you're castling queenside anyways, you can probably play something like Be3 and Qd2 (as you did in the game).

I think after ...Nf5, that Nh2 is a logical try. It allows you to get in a quick g4 and put some pressure on white. Best for black is probably Nxe3 (after Nh2), when you can take with the queen and have a good deal of pressure (I think).

I think 17.Rxg6 is a little hasty. 17.Kb1 is probably fine (unfortunately you missed the ...Bh6 trick, but at least your opponent missed it as well). After 17.Kb1 Bh6 is a mistake after 18.Qf6.

18.Rxg6 again looks a little premature. 18...fxg6 19.Bxg6+ Kd7 20.Qf7+ Qe7 and black is fine. You probably needed to try to activate your knight before sacrificing.

Anyways, after you get the bishop, it's over. Interesting game though, and I think it shows that black's opening set-up can be a tough nut to crack (assuming black had seen ..Bh6 and also seen that Rxg6 fails). This is especially true since it's hard to see how you're breaking through on move 18.

Thanks for the live commentary!

thanks for the feedback. I looked it up and the g6 is played but I dont think it promises Black much.

Oh, I agree. The main line of the Caro-Kann is much stronger

yes. agreed. did you check out the other game we played?

Not yet. I'm probably going to watch it later tonight when I have a little more time