HoemberChess wrote on 02/17/10 at 16:39:18:
TN wrote on 02/17/10 at 09:38:28:
Having reread the thread, my recommendation for you is to get out of your comfort zone, play some sharp chess abounding with tactics, and take the plunge with 4.Nc3. White's game doesn't hang by a thread in these lines, either - even if he makes an inaccuracy he can still claim compensation and attacking chances.
True, White takes some risks, but so does Black, and if you know your theory well, you can gain a very strong initiative out of the opening if the opponent makes a small error because of the sharp nature of the opening. You may find the positions difficult at first, but you will learn a lot about playing aggressively, seizing the initiative and sacrifices for dynamic compensation by studying this variation.
But if you want to fight for an advantage, play 7.Bb3. If you suffer from chess opening inertia, play 7.a4 and rely on your middlegame ability to win games.
@TN:
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 dxc4
and now 4.Nc3?
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In a detailed private message of July 2009, you were satisfied with and praised the White repertoire I had sent you for checking out. (With 2.Nf3 and exactly the same lines.) Now I am urged to get out of my comfort zone...
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So, then 7.a4, if I don't have time to memorize tricky 20th moves against a defence I have never faced in OTB play yet.
Sorry if my advice is at times inconsistent - I tend to change my mind quite often on openings. For example, a year ago I was 100% convinced that 3.e5 was the best move against the Caro-Kann, but now I am certain that 3.Nc3 and 3.Nd2 are the 2 best moves for White.
In the 4.Nc3 line, the theory doesn't seem to go to move 20 (from what I read in Semkov's book, the theory ends at about move 15), although I can understand if you don't want to learn the theory, especially if the Main-Line Slav or Vienna isn't part of your current repertoire (4.Nc3 c6 or 4...e6).
@Smyslov_Fan
My experience was fairly similar, until I started consistently facing IM/GM opposition, who played the 3...e5 4.Nf3 ed4 5.Bc4 Nc6 variation very frequently. Nowadays I play a range of variations against the QGA (3.Nf3, 3.e4, 3.e3) and find that my opponents tend to stick to the main lines, meaning that I can't always guarantee an advantage out of the opening.