1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.Qxc4 c5 7.O-O a6 8.d3 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Nc3 Be7 11.Bf4 O-O 12.Rfd1 Qb6 13.a4 Rfd8 14.a5 Qa7 15.e4 Rac8 16.h3 Nb8 17.Be3 Nc6 18.Qb3 h6 19.Ne2 Qb8 20.Rd2 Nb4 21.Bf4 Qa8 22.Ne5 Nd7 23.Nxd7 Rxd7 24.Qd1 Rcd8 25.Nc1 c4 26.dxc4 Rxd2 27.Bxd2 Bxe4 28.Bxe4 Qxe4 29.cxb5 Nc2 30.Nb3 Nxa1 31.Nxa1 Qd3 32.Nb3 Qxb5 33.Qc2 Qe2 34.h4 Bf8
I accept the communities resignation and am willing to play again. Below are a few comments about our first game:
I played Nbd7 because it was a more dynamic choice (suitable when playing for a win). You will see many GMs play Bd7 followed by Bc6 here immediately challenging white for control of the long diagonal. The drawback is that the position is less dynamic with blacks pawn on c7.
In this position 8.Qb3 was more accurate than 8.d3 for similar reasons to my above comment. In the game I was able to activate my bishop (which is sometimes a problem piece for black in similar positions) with my c pawn not being blockaded (as in 5....Bd7 and 6...Bc6).
After 8.Qb3 I would have had to spend more time developing compared to the game because an immediate b5 is not possible (17.Ne5 wins material for white).
OP, was there a turning point in this match?
I would say 14. a5 was a pretty weak move.
Objectively the move was was worse from a practical standpoint that an objective one. Most of the time if black plays bxa4 or b4 white will benefit from the change in pawn structure because c4 may become a great outpost for a white knight and black will have more weaknesses.
Leaving the tension on the queenside requires me to continually think about protecting my pawn on b5 and whites potential future use of the a file. Therefore even if objectively a5 is not a big mistake it makes things easier for black on a practical level because the tension favors white. After a5 my pawn chain becomes much harder to attack and any inconvenience to my queen is temporary. The pawn on a5 can itself become a target in the future.
From a positional standpoint your next move 15. e4 was a problem. Your d3 pawn becomes a long term weakness with d4 and b4 becoming attractive outposts for my pieces. Regardless of the objective valuation at this point the position is much easier to play for black.
My choice to play Nb8 instead of c4 I think is also important from a practical perspective which I already discussed in my post linked below
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1148538.msg12527411#msg12527411If you have specific questions feel free to ask. I am happy to start another game, this time having the white pieces.
