Thank you Luca, i will have to look at some of Mariottis games for sure.

4.a4 is an idea of Sergio Mariotti an italian GM. However i think that in the game there are two bad errors: c5 created a passed pawn for white ; g5 gave me the f5 square.

[quote]when you position is worse you never should trade Queens because without them you are just in a worse position, with the queens on the board your opponent should always lookout for a mating/counter attack somehow.[/quote]TwistedLogic

Your two cents are really appreciated.

I agree that i was probably not paying enough attention to my pawnstructure. Will do better next time!

Just some quick thoughts without analysing or computer. What i ddidn't like were the moves c5(why force a passed pawn when you don't need to?). Also i didn't like the Queen trade because i.m.o. when you position is worse you never should trade Queens because without them you are just in a worse position, with the queens on the board your opponent should always lookout for a mating/counter attack somehow.

34. .. g5? is bad because it leaves a hole at f5, most top GM's always try to be as flexible as possible with their pawn structure and f6 is better. It was the same with your first mistake c5, just never force anything when you don't get an advantage i.m.o.

Anyway just my two cents =)

@l_goch: Thanks for the info. Do you know some of the ideas behind this move 4.a3 ?

@khpa21: You are somewhat right, but the reality is even a little bit worse: I didn't have any clear targets . What would have been your target in a certain position?

"Target conciousness" is crucial in chess. You seemed to have lost sight of your targets and White didn't, which threw you on the defensive and pretty much decided the game. I think you should've looked for a way to reposition your dark-squared bishop with something like 14...Bxd3(instead of Ne7) 15. Qxd3 Bf8 to fianchetto the bishop and put the queen on d6.

The move 4. a3, although rare, is occationally played at the Grandmaster level.

While it may seem odd, the response  4. .....  g6  is an excellent move.

You are right, that 14. ... Re7 is a mistake. Looks like i need the preparatory 14. ... h6.

Yeah, very clever the way to draw in move 13...Bxh3.

About move 14...Re7 is meet with 15.Bg5 seems painful for black.