Thanks Paul123 your criticism is duly noted.

Perhaps my 1.b3 e5! = was a little terse, but in my defence I was a bit pressed for time and in any case it is not my intention to post three pages of analysis to justify my opinion every time I express a point of view on the forum.

My postings whether brief or verbose always reflect my honest opinion on matters, and are not meant to be contrary just for the sake of it.

HG and Lost Highway summarised and explained the state of 1.b3 quite excellently, which leaves me with very little to add. In short 1.b3 is a sound playable first move, nothing more and nothing less.

Paul 123 commented that 1.b3 e5! = (You wish it was that easy) ok maybe he is right, but after 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6!? White has struggled to prove anything more than equality. In fact this seemingly anti positional 4...Bd6!? has now become the main line of 1.b3 and to date Black has scored excellently with it. I used to enagage in the line that alumbrado mentions, and that too is fine for black provided he is aquainted with a few nuances, but 4...Bd6 is so much simpler, and that is my current preference.   

One final point for Paul 123, I am a supporter of the KID, I think its a great fighting defence for ambitious  players seeking the full point as black. I have no idea where you the notion otherwise, Just check the KID threads and you can confirm where my loyalty lies.

Toppylov 

Paul123 raises a valid point about melodrama in some of these threads, but I think he completely misses the boat about the tenor of the discussions here.  Just about everything is playable, especially the lower your level.  And we could all sing and dance about how 1 b3 is a guaranteed win for White.  The value of criticism is not to make people not play 1 b3, but rather to enter into it with some better sense of what to expect.  I don't think anyone here said don't play 1 b3; I think the comments were more designed to suggest that White can't hope for an advantage by ceding the center like that (big difference).  Contrary to your opinion, a small advantage for White out of the opening can be very important for the competitive player, and if 1 b3 doesn't yield one, it doesn't mean that the opening is useless, just not as desirable for the stronger player.

Constant criticism--so long as it is presented in a constructive tone--is very valuable and welcome here as it helps us to dig deeper into the guts of any opening.  But there's no need to get personal.  Paul123: if the opening is not soft and has transpositional possibilities, how do you handle it?  Don't complain about the critics: silence them with some objective analysis.

You mention 1 b3 d5 2 Bb2 Bg4, which I don't get, but how does White respond to 1 ... e5?

I love this…..


Rich stuff here

This is getting way to “A” typical on this site…

Guy comes on and says how much he likes this or that opening or a variation.   Along comes a bunch of  people  and bum rushes the guy… 

“1. b3  e5 =”

Top Notch.... You wish it was that easy.....

Lost Highway……“The opening is too soft.”  Come on????

Soft?    As apposed to what Lost highway?  The Sicilian Nadjorf?

Lost Highway…  If you’re looking to get an opening advantage you “know” that the opening was not for you.    Not to be disrespectful but it sounds like if you couldn’t bambozzal your opponent in the opening, you lost. 

How about you Top Notch?

The Larsen’s strengths lie in its ability to transpose or its ability to create rich middle games were you are on sound footing and your opponent is not.  It’s not one dimensional like the Colle so you can play rote moves and have an easy time….

Both of you could say the same things about every opening out there, anyone can!  In fact I think Top Notch you have?  Wasn’t it the English you were harping on about a month ago?  But if my memory serves me it was a variation that few really play.  So because of that variation we should not play the English?   

Before that, wasn’t it then KID? 

This is what you guys sound like to me 

Guy A say’s he likes the KID 
Don’t play the KID because of the Bayonet attack, its soft!

Guy B says he like the Grunfeld
Russian var!  black is equal 

Guy C says he like the Tarrash
Don’t play the Tarrach   Bg2 !!!!  Game over!!!!!!!

Don’t play the French because of   
Don’t play the Colle…… 
Don’t play the Torre…….

See a trend here?

 
      

1.b3 e5! =

1.b3 Will get you a playable middlegame, but should only offer White an equal game against a competent opponent. 1.b3 is also a reasonable surprise weapon.

In general Flank Openings tend to work best against inexperienced opponents, who are more comfortable parrying direct threats rather than a slow build up where the threats are more obscure.

Top 

Born and raised in Clio and now live down in Berkley just north of Detroit

I’ve been playing the Larsen for some time now.   
There is another guy (Tracke is his name) I think he is a strong player that posted about it.   He gave a good account of the opening and I echo his thoughts.   
I open with b3 not Nf3 because I feel it allows more flexibility  (And it really doesn’t keep e5 from being played anyway…)   
    
From my experience most club players don’t really know how to approach it.   In OVB play, I usually get the Kings Indian Defense played in a remote fashion.  There are a lot of good lines for white in the Larsen for attacking the pawn at e5.  If anything,  go for a king side fianchetto, post a pawn on d4 and exchange it with blacks e5, thus attempting to de-fang Blacks counter punching ways. This usually gives me a nice initiative on the queen’s side.   

Personally, I think the best way to approach the Larsen is by   1) b3 d5 2) Bb2 Bg4!?         

 
It is not a system, so when black has prepared something for me I move into a different line ( Push c4 instead  f4 etc…or not at all i.e. d3 etc…) About the only thing I don’t think is good for white is mimicking hedgehog lines.   

Because of the nature of the Larsen I can transpose into a different opening altogether.  It’s not like black is facing the Colle were he too can punch out remote moves to equalize.   Some of the lines black can equalize (hardly forced lines) but that happens with every opening.  The lines were black equalizes’ seem to be usually down in the middle game and I’m betting my opponent probably isn’t familiar with these positions.    

   I think there are more lines that end with unclear than anything else.  (IMO)  In this age with computer analysis, these unclear positions are probably the main reason why it’s not seen more at the top professional level.  I assume top GM’s with a lot of money on the line; don’t like to play lines that end in unclear. At the men’s level of 2500-2200 and with the professional woman’s level, it is alive and well. 


Just my thoughts