Maybe, but I wanted to play Ng8-e7 to actually protect its colleague.

Joe, black's idea is that if white exchanges his B for the N, it will be for nothing, because black will have another N on the same square. True, black will miss a N on the Kingside, but white will miss his B even more.

Of course, black can still play the dsb on g7 after g6. Black ensured white won't exchange, since it will just help black in his developement, allowing the f8-a3 diagonal opened without the need of g6. This will play in black's favour if he decides to harass the B with a6-b5, two expanding moves "for free". White should play the c or the a pawn, so to have fly squares for his B OR be prepared to exchange it for the N c6 all the same.

It cames that white had a better retreat square in mind for the B. Probably, all that is just theory, but I didn't know it.

Well: I would say that this unusual retreat is a sympthom of something went wrong with white's opening. The initiative is in black's hands.

I don't agree. Perhaps black has equalised, but nothing more.

As white, I would have played as energically as possible, to "recover". This N can be harassed with c4, and if Nd-b4?, a3! and the N is lost. So, after 8. c4, Nf4? (Nf6 just leaves white with another free try) 9. d4, with a threat on the N from Bc1. In other words: this N has no good place to go to. And c4 does blocks in the lsb, but on the other side it doesn't work too bad controlling black's Bishops. Opinions?

I don't agree with damalfi sorry. After 8. c4 Nf6 is a reasonable move - black moves his knight back to f6 in the game. 8......Nc7 is a reasonable alternative too. 8. c4 leaves white with a backward d pawn on the semi-open d file.

White wants to play Bg5, forcing back Nd5 to f6 or forcing Be7, Qd2, h6, BxB etc. I understand he doesn't want to blind his Bf1, but on the other side, it doesn't seem wise to open the game without a precise plan to break e6 - and it doesn't seem possible, for the moment. So why not 9. d3 instead?

It's not a mistake, and you didn't have a lot of great choices here. The fact that it is the most popular move in the GK database means very little

Qb6, and if Be3, Qxb2 (is this pawn poisoned? Too long to analyze!). On the other side, if black moves the Q, black goes inmediately Ng5, with annoying ideas coming, like Qf3... -- All these moves parry white's possible danger on the upcoming "sortie" of Bdsb. Black's "retreat" choice is not really such because it poses white a question about the d4 pawn (that's why I suggested to play it on d3 instead).

Qb6 is met with 9. c4 Nf6 10. d5 with advantage to white.

...but bocking the other strong point of his position, the semiopened e column. It is not a great move, since this B can be harassed.

Surprisingly 9..Nd5 is a slightly better choice since can cover both e3 and f4 from there. To Joe K: it's an open position because the B's have a fairly wide range of movement available. It's not a question spacing, but more are the pawns in front of the B's in a way such that the block their own B's from being effective.

Joe, the pawns are almost all in its initial squares, except a6, e6, and the two pawns in the center are going to disappear one way or another, because they are taking each other! - - And, I would have played Nd5 again (showing that Be7 was not bad, since we will transpose to this).

Well, it shows I was wrong: the tension with the central pawns will not disappear soon. Neither one wants to take. Unusual! It shows that white was not worried about NxBe3, accepting the loss of his B pair for... control of the e column. But any threat has his weakness: in this case, black left the control of d5, because after the Be3 flies, e6 is pinned to the K. So, before black plays Be7, white should go 10. d5. It will threat the Nc6, but if Qxd5, then QxQ, exQ, Bxc5+. But all this fails to Nb4 by black, and the threat to c2 prevents white from all kind of tricks.

Now that b4 is defended, it seems to me that you prevent e5...