Take two numbers - any numbers. The difference between their squares is equal to the product of their sum and their difference. So two numbers: 5 and 8, say. 8x8-5x5 = 64-25 = 39; (8+5)(8-5) = 13x3 = 39. Try it for any pair of numbers. Useful to know so you can impress your friends with your mental arithmetic skills. What's 64x56? What does it mean in the context of this this game? Search me!!

(a+b)(a-b) = a squared + ab - ab - b squared, and the two ab's cancel each other out  

I find it rather faster to say 64x56 = 8x8x8x7 = 512x7 = 3584  

Odds-giving style. At that, Black doesn't handicap himself all that much thereby.

tempo wasting

White certainly has a lead now. But how long will it last?

actually because black his pawns blocking b5 and g5, developing the knight is a weaker move than pushing up the a pawn to f4 or even c4 before developing the knights. These choices can lead to much sharper lines so be careful.

still tempo wasting

this is some sort of French Defence game now?

yes,only that white is leading in development

one problem though is that in the advanced french white has to play f4-f5 to break open and has c3 to defend d4, now white will waste tempos to defend his center and to get his f4-f5 in.

a strategy that proved to be effective with such tempi losing defences is to open the game as soon as possible and focus the attack on the f7 pawn even with the cost of a sacrifice!

What Black lacks in piece development is compensated by the queenside pawns... I understand your Be2 [the queen seems like the best piece to recapture with] but now your Na4... I would have castled

meh,white is still ahead in development. i have to say the white bishops and knights are standing a little clumsy where they are so i suppose black tries to take advantage of that.

This looks very similar to a Caro-Kann I played against recently OTB (I was White and lost). Black's strength is his flexibility to counter-attack. White's pieces look well developed but their scope for attacking play is remarkably limited.

In my view Black has made up a lot of ground. Could White have prevented this? Don't know; possibly not.

Be2 was unneccessary

haha,nice word,''knightmare''

I think I would have jacked it in. Not only has a piece gone down the stank, but all White's play has vanished with it.

White has been unable to find any kind of counterplay - Black certainly hasn't made the search any easier! Now she has been driven back to two ranks where she is in danger of being squashed.

The first time White has been able to play an aggressive move. But Black can just flick this aside...

Possibly, but Freddy is giving absolutely nothing away. Actually, it is hard to see that after 37...Bf3 38.Bxe6+ Ke8 39.Nxe3 (Bc3) 39...Bxe3 40.Bd7 Black has brought the end any closer in his favour. No doubt White would have welcomed the counterplay!

Must have been something to do with the bishop check on c4...