1. e4 Hmm - do I open e5 or d5? He seems very confident, and I haven't had brilliant results with d5. I'll take him on. 1... e5 2. Nf3 OK, I'm not scared of the old Goocho 'cause I play it myself, and if he tries the Ruy Lopez, I'll just play Bird's variation - Nd4. I don't know the details but it seems to confuse people. Routine. 2... Nc6 3. d4 Damn! John Edge plays that. I haven't got much idea what you're supposed to do, so just swap the pawns and see what happens. 3... exd4 4. Nxd4 OK, now swap knights, then start developing. 4... Nxd4 5. Qxd4 Ok, he's got his queen out, and a pawn, and I've got nothing. Better develop. I've only got 3 sensible moves- Nf6, but then e5, so that's no good. Be7 blocks things up. He's a fast player, and young, so he may not like queens off early, so 5... Qf6 6. Be3 Stick with the decision. Swap queens and see what he does. I'm probably more patient than him. 6... Qxd4 7. Bxd4 Ok. It's move 7 and I have nothing developed at all. Still can't play Nf6. Everything else blocked. Pawn d6 blocks in my black bishop. Oh well give check and gain a tempo. 7... Bb4+ 8. c3 Whoops! Bishop and King's Knight's pawn en prise. Only one thing for it. Look confident and... 8... Bf8 9. Bd3 Well at least c3 took a good square from his knight. Let's see, Move 9 and nothing developed. Still can't play Nf6. Now know can't play Black bishop anywhere. Everything else blocked in. Only one move. 9... d6 10. c4 Trying to get a square for his knight? I think he's got such a big lead in development, he doesn't quite know what to do. Ah! I've just seen a move. Developing the white-squared bishop is one option, but I've heard that if you don't know what to do, improve the position of your worst piece. White Bishop is my best piece. After this next move, I can either go Nc6 hitting his bishop or Ng6 followed by Be7 and castles, giving me some chance to hang on. 10... Ne7 11. e5 What's this? Doesn't this just give me a pawn. If I go Nc6 what does he do? Maybe ed, Nxd4 dc? No that doesn't work. Let's get the pawn. 11... Nc6 My opponent obviously hadn't seen this. He must have been expecting de Bxe5, giving his bishops the run of the board. He now started playing aggressively, slamming the pieces down. Putty in my hands. Just slow down, and slide the pieces into place. 12. Bc3 This is a waste of time. He must be getting rattled. 12... Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Well that's a bonus. Ok, my one developed piece has gone, but I might eventually be able to unravel the king's side. 13... dxe5 14. O-O He's probably going to go Re1 and then Nd2..f3, hitting that pawn. I can defend it. 14... g6 15. Nd2 He's not hitting the pawn yet, so I don't have to defend, and at last I've got some space to work. If I move my queen's bishop, I'm threatening to castle, and maybe gain a piece, so he'll have to do something about it, and I get the initiative at last! If I put the bishop in front of the king it prevents a pin by his rook as well. If I'm careful I should win this now. 15... Be6 16. a3 What's this? Quick - double check. Is there some devious trap here, or has he missed it? No, there's no way he can save a piece. 16... O-O-O 0-1