[pgn] [Result "1-0"] 1.f4 {The Bird's opening. I've really taken a liking to it recently, because all the way up to move 12ish felt almost entirely planned. It just seems like a really easy way to go into the midgame without worry.} e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.d3 c5 6.O-O Qb6 7.c4 {How good is this? I usually prefer to play a Be3 to prevent the diagonal there, but it just doesn't seem like there is ever enough time. Is there any good way to switch around my move order to get in e5, Be3 before black's queen can get to b6? Or is c4 really the only way?} Nc6 8.Nc3 O-O {If d4, would it be best to play back to b1 or to a4? b1 would allow me to pivot around to d2, which feels like a much more flexible square in the long run (support on e4, possible bouncing to b3), but a4 actually keeps the knight in a good position for now, despite being short on squares.} 9.e4 dxe4 {I was a bit surprised by this. I was expecting d4 again, giving me a huge space gain. Again, in this case, where should the knight go? e2, b1, and a4 all seem viable for me.} 10.dxe4 Na5 11.b3 Rd8 12.Qe1 {I couldn't decide between e1, e2, and c2. I've seen e1 played a few times so I decided to play it, but they all seem good to me, and I really can't find out which one's best. I like e1 because of possible tricks in a5 after the c3 knight moves, but I'd like to hear your thoughts as well.} Nc6 13.Bb2 Nd4 14.Na4 {Nxd4 felt very weak, because it creates a passed pawn.} Qc7 15.e5 Ne8 16.Rd1 Nxf3+ {I'm surprised he gave up his well-placed knight that I couldn't take anyway.} 17.Bxf3 Bd7 18.Qe4 {This is where I really need help. I have a huge space advantage, nicely placed bishops, but I have no idea what to do. My following moves (and this one) felt pretty pointless, and I only won because of a cute tactic I saw. What should I be doing here? Black feels too solid to break, and my pieces don't have nice homes.} Bc6 {I didn't see this intermediate move forcing my queen back. I was hoping that if he played Bxa4 I could mount some pressure on the queen side and dominate the light squares.} 19.Qe2 Bxf3 20.Qxf3 g6 21.g4 {Trying to push some pressure.} Ng7 {Completely shut my plans down because any g4 leads to Nf5, and without my light squared bishop that knight would be hell.} 22.Ba3 {Possibly going for some capture on c5?} b6 {Shut down again.} 23.Nc3 {Decided my knight was in a bad position and needed to move. I like c3 over b2 because it leaves e4 and b5 on the table.} h5 24.h3 Rac8 25.Nb5 {Is Ne5 better?} Qb8 26.Bb2 {Moving this bishop again to try to find a hole, but it feels pretty worthless now.} a6 {Blunder, because of what follows.} 27.Nd6 Bxd6 28.exd6 Rxd6 29.Be5 Rcd8 30.Bxd6 Rxd6 31.Rxd6 Qxd6 32.Rd1 Qc7 33.Qa8+ Kh7 34.Rd8 1-0 [/pgn]

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