Guys, surely 61 comments on ONE annotation has to be an international record!   (It's 62 now...)

I guess everyone likes the idea of laughing at me blundering instead of me doing brilliant moves to win a game! lol

Nothing wrong with it; develops a piece. White has chosen the slow Van 't Kruijs opening, so Black does not have to worry about immediate tactics. (One of Andy's annotations got 80 comments.... even one of mine got 58!) (EDIT: and now destroyer333 holds the record with 132.)

The immediate 2... d5 is possible, guarded by the queen. With White declining to place a pawn on the fourth rank, I would be inclined to move one or both centre pawns to the fourth, since placing them on the third blocks one or the other bishop.

Except that now *both* bishops are going to struggle to get out, although in return White has wasted a tempo (as you said) and blocked his queen's bishop.

Necessary to develop the QB. 4. g3 would just create a hole on the kingside, making it dangerous for White to castle.

White has no immediate threat, but it's true that the bishop on b2 makes it difficult for Black to develop his kingside when he cannot, as he normally would, place a knight on f6. Perhaps 5... a6 was preferable; thanks to the b3 pawn, White is forced to exchange and Black can then play ...e5 followed by ...Bd6. Early moves of the f-pawn should be treated with caution, as they create weaknesses that can prove severe later on.

But weakening Black's e-pawn, for the moment.

I doubt it. 6... g6 7. Bxf6?? gxh5 8. Bxh8 Nf5! and White simply has nothing to compensate for loss of the queen.

Of course, yes i didn't think about that.

Doubled pawns that are not isolated, particularly when the capture is made towards the centre, are often not as weak as many people think, certainly not weak enough to justify awarding Bxc6 an exclamation mark. As for Nh3, White obviously intends Nf4, attacking both the pinned knight and the weak e6 pawn.

Lending further support to the intended f4 push, naturally. Nc3 would block the bishop, which is playing a vital role in White's attack. I'm not saying anything about whether White's plan is good or bad, mind you, just pointing out that his moves are consistent.

Whether a luft for the King or to bolster the f4 advance, the move could be seriously weakening. If White was aiming for the f4 advance, then maybe now was a good time to try it: 9.f4 - the threat is 10.f5; the idea is the continuation: 9...exf4 10.Nxf4 Bxf4 11.exf4. Now the f5 threat has been renewed, but Black dare not Black with 11...f5 owing to 12.Bxg7.

Although White's queen is still menacing...

Or giving the knight a square to develop on without blocking the bishop. White's pawn structure resembles the "Hippopotamus Opening", but is an atypical member of the species, with the KB and KN developed in unusual places.

Actually, the eccentric placing of the KN is not altogether atypical of this kind of opening (though the bishop's certainly is)! Taken overall, nuntar's description is pretty apt. Black has occupied the centre with pawns, and has an imposing position. White's is more disposed to bringing this centre under a crossfire from the flanks. Such positions can give rise to interesting and intriguing games...

Now, ordinarily, one would hesitate to make this exchange if it meant White's light-square bishop (LSB) continued to live. Exploiting that light-square weakness would become very difficult. However, here White's LSB is far away on the other side of the field, and unlikely to return any time soon. But Black could have resolved that bishop's status immediately following the exchange on h3 in this line: 10...Bxh3 11.Qxh3 a6 12.Bxc6 (forced) 12...bxc6, with a fine game. Better yet, though, wa to let the knight live for now: 10...a6! ... and then see what interesting things Black might be able to create on the K-side. all of which becomes academic after White's next move...  

Tactical? Not really...it's more CAPTURE VISION.

It does seem he simply overlooked the retrograde Q-move to take on h3. It is said that retrograde moves are the easiest to miss - and retrograde bishop moves - except along the long diagonals - easiest of all to overlook.