Meat wrote on 11/19/07 at 10:10:26:
I usually met the Bird with 1...c5 hoping to transpose to some sort of closed Sicilian or GPA.
The problem with this is that most Bird players at club level stubbornly refuse to play e4. Instead they go for a queenside fianchetto with b3 Bb2 and e3. Frankly I have no idea how to play against that, although I feel blacks position should be rather fine. Any suggestions?
Btw: A friend of mine claimed that g6 Bg7 followed by an early Nh6 has worked wonders for him. Has anyone else tried that out?
I think the queenside fianchetto does not bring anything for white, against a black (double) fianchetto, with a Night on f6. However I am aware about all the positive sounds for a Night on h6. Without having proper analysis, I doubt those conclusions. When playing dutch against Nh3 systems, they play very nice for black, once you have mastered to avoid all the tricks. Black then always need to be very sensitive on move order, because basically black is one tempo short.
So playing a reversed Leningrad agains a black Nh6 is at least comfortable, if you can play it with black, and gives white the initiative.
I think the good reputation for the Nh3 / Nh6 systems come, because of all accidents what happen for the (reversed) Dutch players. But those accidents can be well avoided, and then it plays very nice.
@Mnb:
The e6 systems against the "classical" Grand Prix are very solid. And I think a bit ignored / forgotten by theory. I do not think it is easy for white to gain any advantage for white. I am curious to the game.