[quote author=6D6E6462030 link=1271505369/59#59 date=1273250701]This is a reference to Crouch--Karpatchev, Cappelle La Grande 93, game 245 in Berdichevsky's book (p. 130). I should have mentioned earlier that I'd been 'trusting' that [u]3 ...Ng6[/u] 4 f4 e6 (or, more cunningly, 4 ...e5) evades the danger. Is there any problem with this?[/quote]
Michael, after 1.d4 Nc6 2.d5 Ne5 3.e4 Ng6, there is also the more flexible 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nf3!? (5.f4). The lesser evil might be 4...c6, for example 5.h4!? h5 6. Be3 Nf6 7.f3 Qa5 8.Qd2 b5 with sufficient chances. 

No one so far has mentioned how to deal with Berdichevskys suggestion against the f pawn capture.
1d4 Nc6 2d5 Ne5 3e4 e6 4de fe 5Nc3 (! Berdichevsky).  Black has to be careful not to get move ordered into a bad line.

Re linksspringer's 6 ...Bb4/[u]8 ...Nh6[/u] idea -- I think this looks interesting, since 9 f5 appears not to be a problem for Black. Of course this isn't to say that 6 ...d5 mightn't just be the best. I wondered if 9 Bd3 might be a good response to linksspringer's line, meeting ...d5 with e5 and ...Nf5 with Bxf5 sometime and trying to squash Black. This thought (plus the thought that 6 Nf3 d5 might be adequate for Black) led me to reconsider 6 Bd3 Bc5 7 Nf3 Nh6 8 g3 0-0. Is 9 c3 an idea here, intending the same 'squash' albeit without the free tempo? (I suppose 9 ...Ng4 must be a serious response since the recommended 9 Qe2 is presumably intended to counter this, but then why not [u]8[/u] ...Ng4?) In either case I guess White is going (after ...d5/e5) to play any/all of moves like Na3-c2/Be3/0-0/Ng5 and pawn breaks such as c3-c4 and (after ...c5) b2-b4 (and later, h2-h4-h5?); Black meanwhile will presumably play ...Be7 or ...Bb6/...c5/...Bd7.

I haven't really got a clue as to the evaluation of this Advance French/Big Clamp kind of setup or what Black's best plan of resistance might be -- is Black just OK here or can White hope to make the space tell? [i]If[/i] a clamping plan is any good White could try it after 9 Qe2 d5 10 e5 Be7! too, but then why commit to Qe2? Final radical thought: is 6 Nf3 d5 [u]7 e5[/u] so daft?

Probably I'm talking baloney and Black's just fine. It just struck me that our 'rescue' of this opening seems thus far to have been suspiciously 'easy'! ...

[quote author=42414B4D2C0 link=1271505369/53#53 date=1273073420]
I tried hard to rescue [u]6 ...Bb4[/u] 7 c3! Bc5 against 8 g3.[/quote]
Michael, 8...Nh6 could be worth examining, aiming to get into Stefan's line after 9.Ng5, but with queens on d8 and d1 iso e7 and e2. This allows some tactics based on pushing e5 after d5. Sorry to be vague, will try to post more later.

[quote]10.e5 Ne4 11.Be3 and after exchanging off Ne4 and Bc5 Black has problems on the kingside and no counterplay elsewhere.[/quote]
Admission, this daft twit was going so fast he forgot about 10 ...Ng4?? 11 Qb5!

I have to pause myself too (Bank Holiday, but for me some work!) but back next week. Your (6 ...d5) 9 ...Bd7!? is looking good, I think!

Agree with your (a)! -- just now had time to look at this. BUT 8 g3 d5 9 Qe2 and now 9 ...Nf6 might work?

I'd been wondering about your (b2), but what on the paradoxical 12 Bd4 (12 ...c5 13 Be3 then Bd3)? Will look at 9 ...Bd7.

Hi Stefan,

Will take a look at the 6 ...Bb4/8 g3 line anon (my first thought is, can we get away with 8 ...Nf6?). But on 6 ...d5!? -- I'm sure that this is better than after 6 Bd3, but is 7 Nc3 Bb4 clearly OK for Black? How should Black handle the position if [u]8 g3[/u], then Bd2 and e5?