I think this is a case of be careful what you wish for.  I've had more free time than usual lately and I positively can't keep up with the interesting posts here at the Chesspub!  (Like to see a Chesspub bar and grill.)  

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 07/02/06 at 23:45:49:

Smyslov_Fan,
I'll start a thread for our game tomorrow night or early Thursday if this works for you.  

Do you want to start with 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 or maybe add a few more moves and start with the position after 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 (or even a more specific line)?  Either way works for me.

BTW, in serious games I've only played Steinitz lines with 5. Nf3 so far.  My repertoire had a lot of theory dodging lines when I started playing about six years ago ( following a >20 yr hiatus).  Over time, I've been upgrading my repertoire bit by bit with more ambitious/robust lines.  However, I'm pretty comfortable with 5. f4 Steinitz lines (with a fair bit of recent experience in ICC rapid/blitz games).

I'll wait til I hear your preference regarding the starting moves before putting up the thread.

Cheers,
Ostap

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 07/04/06 at 01:00:37:

I may not be much help to you, as I only play this from the white side. Real Frenchies play the Winawer

PS for accents switch you keyboard to dutch iso US american. Then ie a ` followed by an e will give è

If you chose 7...a6 against the Steinitz, I will.
This dead board looks quite alive ...

986 wrote on 07/03/06 at 21:05:21:


I will start a game thread in the French Section middle of next week (around July 12).  This will give me time to get my Dragon game with Scholar underway and finish up some other ongoing stuff (some of which has nothing to do with chess...  ).

Ostap,

I'd love to play the Black side of the French Steinitz or Classical after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 whenever you're ready.

Take your time and get back to me.  If we do this before school starts back up I should have plenty of time to come up with some thoughtful (though perhaps wrong-headed) play.

Cheers!

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 06/30/06 at 18:51:17:

Although I play 1...Nf6 against 1.d4 aiming for Nimzo or Benoni (against Nf3), I often find myself in a Slav or Semi-Slav when White delays c2-c4 (e.g., Anti-Colle lines based on ...d5 and ...Bf5 often lead into Slav).  So I might be interested in a game starting with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 since I have a little bit of experience through the abovementioned transpositions and am interested in becoming more familar with the Slav.  I think that I should have sufficient database/book resources to compensate for my relatively limited experience - and hopefully there'll be some other participants.

Quote:

I have some favorites here, of course.  Right now I'm kind of partial to the Sveshnikov Sicilian (which I'm still learning but have done pretty well with thus far).  I also like playing 1..e5 and have some experience with the French.

Quote:

Since I play 1.e4 and face the French Defense fairly often, this seems like a good choice if you would prefer this to the Taimanov which I'm also happy to try.  

Maybe we can start figuring out if there's a specific line in the French Defense we'd both like to explore and start from there.  I'm open to suggestions, but as a starting point let's consider either Steinitz or Winawer lines arising from 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3.  

As for timing, maybe starting in about 2-3 weeks would be good.  I might be taking on the White side of the Yugoslav Dragon in a week or so and would like to get that one underway before jumping into a second game.  If someone else takes up the White side of the Yugoslav I'll be ready sooner.

In any event, thanks for your interest and I'm definitely looking forward to getting a game started with you.