4.a4 is not a clue. In fact, I think that move would be more likely played by a stronger player since an average player would have been taught to avoid such moves as weakening and senseless. However, there are many lines of the Italian where White executes a quick queenside advance with c3/b4/a4, and the a5-push is a real threat.

However, 6.h3 and 7.0-0 are textbook amateur mistakes, committing the king before Black has castled and settting up his kingside pawn storm.

Some of White's later play also looks suspicious, and Black proceeds in fine fashion. Yet White is able to exploit some created weaknesses and survive into a pawn-down ending. However, Black plays much better from that point on and wins easily enough.

Overall, I'd say it's a non-Master game with White being a player who likes to play unconventionally with tactical ingenuity, while Black has a much better understanding of the game.

Ah.

It's the old old story. Boy meets girl. Boy castles too soon. Girl castles on the opposite side, chucks pawns forward. Boy tries a half-hearted attack of his own, but drops a pawn in the process. Girl exchanges down into a endgame. Boy gets exiled. Girl pretends to die. Boy doesn't realise that she is only pretending, so kills himself with poison. Girl stabs herself with boy's dagger. Prince comes in and everybody makes peace. Or maybe I am just getting a little confused?

Fritzie finds mistakes on both sides. There's is a fun bit in Act Two. Here's the position after 21....g4:

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White is hanging on by his fingernails. Now Fritz wants to play 22. Nxa5 with the best of a bad job to limit black's advantage to -2.4.

Instead, white sheds his kingside pawn protection with 22....hxg4

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In every position, you ideally want to have something that makes you smile, a feature about the position that gives you hope for the future, an avenue for attack.

In many cases (although not all) that object of affection will be a pawn break, such as d4. Let's take an Italian game position from today's game:

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What pawn break can white look forward to here? He could think of a queenside push with a3 and b4. That's possible, but generally pretty slow. In some lines he would like to play f4 to put a pawn alongside his e pawn, but that it going to take some time to engineer as his Nf3 is in the way. So, by a process of elimination we arrive at d4 as white's preferred pawn break from here. And that is why you will often see white preparing for this with moves like c3.

But black is trying his level best to stop white from getting in d4, and to create attacks of his own. Here is the position after 7. 0-0

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White has developed his pieces to sensible squares but he has wasted time with a4 and h3. This makes it harder for him to get in his ideal d4 break. For example, black has the d4 square covered three times, to white's two. And if white were to play d4 soon he would have to reckon with black playing Nxe4 at some point.

From the position above, black has a ready made pawn break of his own. Because he hasn't castled yet, black doesn't mind throwing his kingside pawns forward. A supported black pawn landing on g4 would hit the Nf3 and rip the white kingside pawn screen apart. Then black would park his rooks and queen on g8 and/or h8 and have a wonderful time taking pot shots at the white king.

That's why white felt compelled to play Nh2, but that in turn takes away one of the pieces that white had to support the d4 advance.

So to answer your question, yes - white would be well advised to get in an attacking plan like d4. But his timewasting antics with a4 and h3 have made this difficult to achieve because black has got his attack in first.

Here is the position after black has played 9...a5.

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Here white would love to play 10. d4. But how? He needs to support his e4 pawn somehow and he needs to get another piece to cover d4 (he still doesn't want to play Nf3 and allow g4 in response). That is why he has to change plans and play Be3 instead.

And here's a bit of irony. With the moves a4 and h3, white probably thought that he was being clever by preventing black from playing Bg4 (to pin the Nf3) or a queenside pawn expansion with a6 and b5. But all black needed to do was to adopt a different plan which took advantage of those two pawn moves. White thought he was preparing his attack by nullifying moves that black wanted to make. But what actually happened was that black was able to nullify moves that white wanted to make - eg the thematic d4.

I appreciate the points of a4 (giving the light square bishop a place to hide, I do enjoy the pin on f7 when I can get it) and h3, eliminating the annoying Bg4 pin, but Black takes advantage of these with g5, a move I like from Black as it says he's going to fight for this point.

What about 8.c3, earlier preparation for d4 and giving me b4! which looks like it could be uncomfortable for Black...then if 8...g4 9.hxg4 Bxg4 and he has the pin but b4! gets me a piece?

If 8...0-0 I can shred Blacks kingside with a sacrifice on g5. (Not knowing exactly how to proceed but I love shredding the opponents kingside [insert evil sounding laugh])

So if after 9...Bxg4 I then play 10.d4 my e4 pawn hangs but Blacks dark square bishop is toast....except with 10...Bxg4 it's MY kingside that is getting the shredding...Hmmmm...

I'll have to look at it some more, I'm moving today and can't analyze and carry chairs at the same time.

That's the good news...

The bad news is that prophylactic moves don't normally contain a threat. So your opponent doesn't have to do anything in response to them, and that can give him time to develop an alternative plan.

So in today's game the move 6. h3 stops black from playing Bg4, but it does nothing to stop black from the equally attracitve (or possibly even more attractive) plan of h6-g5-g4.

Prophylactic moves tend to work best in relatively close positions (ie those with locked pawns) where there are relatively few breakthroughs for either side. In open positions, the other guy can often sidestep a prophylactic move and do something else which renders it at best worthless and possibly even a liability.

After 8.c3 it recognizes the threat on the bishop and gives 8...a7 9.b4 Ba7 10.Qb3 (forming a battery against f7, interestng and enlightening to see the 'best' moves combining a threat with removing the liability of any future pins on f3) Qe7 but then goes on to reccommend 11.a5 and the d4 push is nowhere to be found.

Analyzing the earlier moves shows a4 and h3 to be of little value as Fritz puts a premium on development. In some of these lines the d4 push is enabled by c3 coupled with Nbd2 to protect the e pawn, but as the computer thinks a little longer those options fade down the list and c3 looks like a move mostly intended to restrict Blacks Nc6.

One of the most helpful books I have on the openings is Reuben Fine's "The ideas behind the chess openings", first published in 1943. I have the third editoin, published in 1989. This is what Fine has to say about 1. e4 e5 openings:

"Both White's and Black's initial moves here are perfectly natural and normal: both assist development and affect vital central squares."

"As long as Black can retain symmetry, White can lay no claim to an advantage. Consequently the task is to compel the defender to give up his strong centr positions, in other words to abandon his pawn at e5."

"White can achieve this aim only by playing d4. If black then replies with ...exd4 he will be left with a pawn at d6 (eventually) vs his opponent's at e4 and our general theory of the game teaches us that such a pawn structure is favourable for White."

"The reason why such a pawn vis-a-vis is better for the man with the centre pawn is twofold: it cramps the enemy's pieces and it creates valuable outposts at d5, f5. From this explanation we can see why such a pawn is not an absolute advantage of if neither of the above conditions holds to an appreciable extent (chiefly in the endgame where this is nothing to cramp and where the outposts lack real meaning) the centre pawn is no essentially different from any other. It is exposed to attack then it may even be a weakness."

Fine goes on to say that this is the ideal pawn skeleton for white in all openings with 1. e4 e5:

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The rest is from me...

Why is this better for white? Because his pieces can find good squares quite easily - eg the minor pieces can sit happily on the broad strip of land between c3 and f3. White's rooks can live on d1 and e1. He can look to push the f4 pawn and throw e4 up to e5. The squares d5 and f5 are semi outposts. Life is good.

By contrast, black has a tougher time. He has less space to play with, with no easy third-rank marshalling ground for his minor pieces. The pawn on d6 blocks a Bf8. Black may dream about playing d5, but normally has to preface this with c6. Only he often finds that c6 has a black knight parked on it.

The book sounds like a good one, I generally prefer to read about the ideas behind the openings as opposed to playing out variation after varaition trying to see Why one side is better. It gives me a chance to implement the ideas into whatever position I find myself in, and excercise better thinking habits over the board.