good fun! I love the comments   Quite an adventure. But getting that early pawn gave me a pang... I have learnt to keep a wary eye out for distant and forgettable bishops... I like the Windmill too. thanks for demonstrating cheers peter

I have spent years trying to perform a Windmill in a real-time game. So, the start of this annotation alone is enough to interest me!

If you like play 1.e4, and dont want to study tons of opening theory against 1.-,c5, the Grand Prix attack is an alternative. Many sicilian lovers play "standard" lines with black, and therefor play 2.-, d6 - e6 or Nc6. If you play OK moves, and develop quick you should be able to hold such a game. The early commitment of the f-pawn has up- and downsides. The only line you absolutely should study is 2.- d5. "An attack on flank, should be met with action in centre". If your opponent plays 2.-, d5 he probably know the Grand Prix, and you have to watch his moves most carefully.

2. ... d5 3. exd5 e6 4. dxe6 Bxe6 was known as the Tal Gambit about 20 years ago when I was playing it. Black gets lots of activity to the extent that a lot of White players started playing 2. Nc3 and only then 3. f4 to avoid it. It became known as the Grand Prix Attack because it was so popular on the UK Grand Prix congress circuit, although the acromnym GPA was also 'translated' as Greedy Pig ...

Black has chosen a fairly unaggressive policy here. He'll have to be careful the game doesn't get away on him before he's ready...

White's setup has transposed into a Closed Sicilian (2.Nf3) position, in which White makes no pawn breaks in the centre.

The f-rook will be useful in a kingside attack, since it can easily be developed actively onto the kingside via Rf1-f3-g3 or -h3.

This looks like somewhere between a King's Indian Attack and a Modern Defence. - or maybe even an English Reversed! White is well placed for K-side attack, Black for Q-side operations.

White's attack in the GPA plays itself to some extent - he wants to play Qe1-h4, e5 and/or f5 (often both, sacrificing a pawn), Bh6, Ng5 and Rf3-h3. Black's queenside attack rarely gets going and the best lines for Black rarely included 0-0. This really is a case of castling into it. GPA players (and I was one of them) would also play Bb5 rather than Bc4 in some lines, exchanging on c6 as appropriate.

Good move. This helps control Black's planned expansion on the queenside after ...b5 - this queenside expansion would help combat White's kingside play.

To be honest, you can problaby press on with the GPA plan - if the bishop goes back to b3 and he wants to waste time exchanging it, that's Black's problem.

And attempting to weaken Black's strong pawn shielf.

And, you have an open line into Black's king's position - although, at this time, this particular diagonal isn't going to be very helpful in an attack.

And threatening Nf7+, which is the reason Black does not simply drive the knight away with 14... h6

With the extra pawn, Nd5 comes into the reckoning. Does he really want to weaken f7 further? Again, Qe1-h4 is another way of bringing the lady to the party.

Since the f-file is already open, most of White's work to this effect has been done for him - all he needs now to open up this file is to shift the irritating f6-knight.