Here is a game I annotated. I wrote what I was thinking during the game and the variations that I was able to comprehend. You'll be very surprised I think just how much variation I was considering in a game. It was really.. skimpy to say the least.

The full game is here

1. e4 d6
2. Nf3 Nf6

I'm having trouble meeting d4 with d5. I always seem to get a cramped game and it is not uncommon that the games ends with my light square bishop not moving from its spot.

Plus the fact that I have in my possession - "Starting Out: The Pirc/Modern". The last chess book I bought before I went into my hiatus.

So now I'm starting to use this opening against both e4 and d4. I must say that the character of the games I get is very different from what I'm used to. The black position seems compressed.There are no sudden skirmishes and you have to wait for your chances.

On the other hand, learning all about pawn breaks and how to counter a pawn center with pieces is also something new. It could only improve my chess if I learn these things.

3. e5 Nfd7

I seriously considered Ng4 here. It didn't appeal to me. It seems that he will take the d6 pawn anyway so attacking with the Knight seems just a waste. Although I at least had another 'candidate' move. Often I would only have one - the seemingly obvious move. So finding an alternative is a happy occasion for me.

4. exd6 cxd6
5. Bc4 g6

He is targeting the vulnerable f7. The threat that I saw was Ng5. I can counter that with e6. No problem at this point.

But I also considered Qc7 attacking the bishop. But if the bishop moves to say - b3 then the idea behind Qc7 is lost. Although Qc7 is the normal home for the queen. But I feel that it is needed in the king side.

6. d3 Bg7

How could I miss d3. Defending his bishop and opening the diagonal for the other one. I'm sure glad I didn't do Qc7

7. Ng5 O-O

I considered d6 here. But I was afraid of the sacrificial idea
- 8. Bxd6 fxd6
- 9. Nxd6 - Queen moves
- 10. Nxg7

But truth to tell, I just saw this move now. I didn't saw it during the game :( - I just felt it was
dangerous so I opted to castle instead. Besides, I had a defensive resource up my sleeve which I played the next move.

8. Qf3 Ne5

Ha! I was expecting something like this. Now Ne5 stops him dead cold.

9. Qf4 Nxc4
10. Qxc4 Nc6
11. O-O h6

I don't want that blasted horse perched over my head

12. Nf3 Be6

I wanted to kick the queen out while developing

13. Qh4 g5

GASP!! I didn't see this. Now I'm under pressure - h5 will be lost. Then his knight will come back to g5. Just terrible. The question now is - do I have to save it? The answer is - I felt i must. Otherwise it would have been the height of inconsistency for me to have played g5.

And he wouldn't have the cojones to sac a piece for two pawns and the attack would he?

14. Bxg5 hxg5

He did :(

Mate in h7 is threatened. I admit that I didn't see that coming. I was analyzing what will happen if he sacs the knight. I didn't see any mating threats with queen and bishop so I just played g5. But it turned out he sac'ed the bishop. Now there is a threat of mate.

15. Nxg5 Bf5

One of the things to look for when sacrificing is the presence of the opponents pieces. If there are two or three that can get in the vicinity and participate in the defense then it is usually not a bright idea to do unclear sacrifices.

In this case I had two bishops. A tough nut to crack.

16. g4 Bg6
17. f4 f5

I cant move f5. He will fork, I saw this much. But then looking around I saw I have a check. So I gain valuable tempo. I can do f5 after all. I can't find any other move apart from this. Some other move like Qa5 to do Qd4+ doesn't seem to do anything at all.

18. Ne6 Qb6

The expected fork. The expected check.

19. Kh1 Rf6
20. gxf5 Qa5

The critical position. I found here a simple trap involving Qd5+ and Rg6+ (I need to check with the queen first otherwise him doing Qxe7 is quiet worrying)

In here he could have maybe got material balance like this -
- 21. fxg6 Qd5+
- 22. Kg8 Rxg6+
- 23. Nf5

If he did this, I was intending to sac the exchange just to remove that pesky beast.

21. Nxg7 Kxg7

Nxg7 loses. He just didn't consider why I did Qa5 I think. Judging from how fast he made this
move I didn't think it registered on his consciousness at all.

It is all over now. The rest is of no interest.

22. fxg6 Qd5 23. Kg1 Rxg6 24. Kf2 Qg2 25. Ke1 Re6 26. Kd1 Qxf1 27. Kd2 Re2 28. Kc3 Qe1 29. Qxe1 Rxe1 30. Kd2 Rh1 31. a4 Rxh2 32. Kc3 Rc8 33. Kb3 Nd4 34. Kb4 Nxc2 0-1 {White resigns}

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I really have to get better at looking for trouble. I didn't foresee the reasonable replies three times. Reasonable is the keyword here. It would be one thing if it was some deeply laid trap, but its quite another to be blind to moves that in hindsight, I would have done too.

Although me finding another candidate move no matter how simple is good, and there are some variations that I did see.

Wonder how much analysis other players do OTB. Do they really have reems of variation floating in their head crafty-style?