ChessPub Forum - Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer?

ChessPub Forum › Chess Publishing Openings › French › Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer?

(Moderators: Smyslov_Fan, proustiskeen)

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

Poll

Question: Which Queen's Pawn defense do players of the French prefer?

Queen's Gambit Declined

6 (8.2%)

Tarrasch

5 (6.8%)

Queen's Gambit Accepted

0 (0.0%)

Slav

6 (8.2%)

Semi-Slav

9 (12.3%)

Chigorin

0 (0.0%)

Dutch

21 (28.8%)

Budapest

0 (0.0%)

Nimzo / Queen's / Bogo Indian

13 (17.8%)

King's Indian

8 (11.0%)

Gruenfeld

3 (4.1%)

Benoni / Benko

2 (2.7%)

Total votes: 73

« Last Modified by: Smyslov_Fan on: 04/25/11 at 04:24:25 »

Pages: [1] 2

Topic Tools

Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? (Read 18130 times)

MNb God Member Offline Rudolf Spielmann forever Posts: 10778 Location: Moengo Joined: 01/05/04 Gender:	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #23 - 05/19/11 at 19:06:32	Post Tools	Print Post
	In some variations of the Dutch Black needs to manoeuvre and counterattack too.

	The book had the effect good books usually have: it made the stupids more stupid, the intelligent more intelligent and the other thousands of readers remained unchanged. GC Lichtenberg
	IP Logged

ahammel YaBB Newbies Offline Posts: 18 Location: Vancouver, BC Joined: 04/04/11	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #22 - 05/19/11 at 16:49:28	Post Tools	Print Post
	I play the Nimzo/QID, with a dash of Benoni/English to avoid the annoying Catalan transposition attempt (1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5). I have a strong preference for knights over bishops, so that's the common thread if there is any (the Rossolimo Sicilian is a big part of my repertoire with White). I don't really see the appeal of the French/Dutch repertoire that a lot of my fellow Francophiles are so fond of. I've fooled around with the Dutch a bit, and I can't see any common thread between the two. The pawn structures and tactics are completely different. I would think the Dutch would be more popular with kamikaze d6-Sicilian types than people who the like French-style manoeuvre-and-counterattack approach. [Edit: typos]


	IP Logged

Blackburne YaBB Newbies Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 26 Joined: 01/03/10	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #21 - 05/13/11 at 19:47:46	Post Tools	Print Post
	I'm not a Frenchie -- I dabble with it online but don't play it in tournament games -- so I didn't vote. But one of my students is, and she plays the French in part because she likes the Dutch (Classical, Dutch-Indian, and Stonewall all figure in her repertoire) but wants to avoid the most annoying sidelines.


	IP Logged

rukh Junior Member Offline Posts: 63 Location: Finland Joined: 08/27/09 Gender:	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #20 - 05/07/11 at 14:14:18	Post Tools	Print Post
	I've been long trying to decide how to reply 1.d4. Now I have ruled out the Semi-Slav, but it's still a difficult choice between Nimzo/QID/Catalan and the KID.


	IP Logged

WSS Senior Member Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 273 Joined: 04/22/11	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #19 - 05/07/11 at 13:44:00	Post Tools	Print Post
	Markovich wrote on 05/05/11 at 17:43:18: The choice that makes the most sense to me is the Triangle, which is what Yuri Shulman plays along with his signature Winawer. So I voted Semi-Slav. That certainly seems to make a lot of sense as the fighting play in the Triangle seems reminiscent of the French. I'm currently a "full" Slav player but may take a look at the new book on the Triangle to expand my repertoire.


	IP Logged

Alias God Member Offline Posts: 1512 Location: East of the river Svartån Joined: 11/19/04	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #18 - 05/06/11 at 08:13:46	Post Tools	Print Post
	Uhohspaghettio wrote on 05/05/11 at 17:10:32: I cannot see the results of the poll without voting. Maybe you could add another poll option for people who don't play it but want to view the results. I think you can see the result if you log out.

	Don't check me with no lightweight stuff.
	IP Logged

Markovich God Member Offline Posts: 6099 Location: Columbus, Ohio Joined: 09/17/04	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #17 - 05/05/11 at 17:43:18	Post Tools	Print Post
	The choice that makes the most sense to me is the Triangle, which is what Yuri Shulman plays along with his signature Winawer. So I voted Semi-Slav.

	The Great Oz has spoken!
	IP Logged

Uhohspaghettio God Member Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 515 Joined: 02/23/11	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #16 - 05/05/11 at 17:10:32	Post Tools	Print Post
	I cannot see the results of the poll without voting. Maybe you could add another poll option for people who don't play it but want to view the results.


	IP Logged

cynima Junior Member Offline Posts: 62 Location: Germany Joined: 12/06/10 Gender:	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #15 - 04/28/11 at 13:27:57	Post Tools	Print Post
	I have voted for the Kings Indian


	IP Logged

WSS Senior Member Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 273 Joined: 04/22/11	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #14 - 04/27/11 at 23:40:32	Post Tools	Print Post
	TN wrote on 04/26/11 at 09:53:00: Back when I was a 'Frenchie', I liked the Slav and Nimzo/Bogo as my complement to the French. I've even been playing the French more regularly of late, but most of my opponents have learned that 1.d4 is one of White's better Anti-French lines! Clever TN!


	IP Logged

HoemberChess God Member Offline Posts: 512 Location: Lake d4 on Planet Chess Joined: 10/08/07 Gender:	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #13 - 04/26/11 at 21:11:25	Post Tools	Print Post
	@WSS: i have not had much practical experience with the defences yet, but: i have been studying the nimzo (+bogo) for months, along with the main-line slav. (vs. 1.e4: the french and the kan are the favorites.)

	as W 1d4) Torre/Barry/Pirc/Philidor/ early _d5:early c4(QGD/Slav/QGD/etc) B) 1e4:e6 [+1_c5 2Nf3 a6]\| 1d4:e6 2c4 Bb4+ BID/pseudoNID [+1_Nf6 NID]\| 1c4:c5,_Nc6,_e5,_g6\| 1Nf3:c5
	WWWGTalk IP Logged

fling God Member Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 1591 Joined: 01/21/11 Gender:	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #12 - 04/26/11 at 11:35:40	Post Tools	Print Post
	I am not much of a French player, I have preferred the Kan instead. But I am taking up the French again together with the Caro-Kann, at least planning on it. My main 1.d4-defence is the Slav, but I am also waiting for Cox new book on the QGD. Anyway, these defences are all based on pawn structures with the pawns on primarily light squares. I guess that is the common theme for me as Black.


	IP Logged

TN God Member Offline Posts: 3420 Joined: 11/07/08 Gender:	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #11 - 04/26/11 at 09:53:00	Post Tools	Print Post
	Back when I was a 'Frenchie', I liked the Slav and Nimzo/Bogo as my complement to the French. I've even been playing the French more regularly of late, but most of my opponents have learned that 1.d4 is one of White's better Anti-French lines!

	All our dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
	IP Logged

Fromper Senior Member Offline GrandPatzer Posts: 378 Location: Chicago, IL, USA Joined: 03/12/10 Gender:	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #10 - 04/25/11 at 19:14:16	Post Tools	Print Post
	Well, I don't want to derail this into a conversation about the Classical Dutch, but that "dynamic potential" Avrukh mentioned is the key. Getting the queen side pieces developed is sometimes a little slow, especially if you end up with a bishop on d8, which is the standard way to defend c7 from a knight on b5 after Qe8. It does take some getting used to in order to learn to play it well, and there will be disasters along the way. As I said, I'm considering switching back to the Tarrasch for a bit, to try and get more open positions, just because I'm still not that great at playing the Classical Dutch. But I don't think it's the opening that's the problem. I just don't think I'm a good enough player to handle those dynamic positions that well, and I have higher priorities in my chess study instead of spending all my time studying that one opening.

	GrandPatzer!!! 1777 peak USCF rating - currently 1620 from coming back rusty
	WWW IP Logged

WSS Senior Member Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 273 Joined: 04/22/11	Re: Which Queen's pawn defense do "Frenchies" prefer? Reply #9 - 04/25/11 at 18:12:52	Post Tools	Print Post
	Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this MNb and Fromper - both about why you paired French/Dutch as well as your use of the McCutcheon (I posted an earlier question on another thread about alternatives to the Winawer.) My comment of the "solidity" of the Dutch was directed to the Classical I-Z Dutch and based on my own game play experiences (similar to MNb's) and occasional comments I read in various books. For example Boris Avrukh in 1. d4 Grandmaster Repertoire says "The Classical Dutch does not, and perhaps never will, enjoy the best reputation. Nevertheless it should under no circumstances be underestimated, as the black position contains a surprising amount of dynamic potential." That's what ultimately pushed me away from the Dutch as my primary defense (kept it as backup) and toward the Slav - even though it probably is a more economical repertoire choice to pair with the French.


	IP Logged

Pages: [1] 2

Topic Tools

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

Bookmarks: