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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire (Read 22683 times)
Gilchrist is a legend
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #14 - 08/30/11 at 02:38:17
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I usually did fine with 6...Qa5, but maybe theory has changed since then. I lost with 6...Qc7 a few years ago when I hung an exchange for no reason in the opening. There are also MacCutcheon lines with ...Kf8 that are also interesting.

Perhaps 15...g6 is better. Then hxg6 does not look favourable for White. I am not sure what the plan for White should be then. 16. Qc1 looks too passive and maybe then ...Ng8 looks unfavourable for White.
  
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #13 - 08/30/11 at 01:57:34
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I don't like 15...g5 either. Is there anything wrong with ...g6, now or after some preparation?

Mainly because neither the Black Queen Blues nor the Eingorn Variation 7...Kf8 provide much winning chances (even though they helped me avoiding to lose after 3.Nc3) I have looked at other options. I don't like Black's chances after 6...Qc7 7.Qg4 f5 8.Qg3 cxd4 9.cxd4 Ne7 10.Bd2 0-0 11.Bd3 and White does have attacking chances.
At the other hand the Poisoned Pawn looks too risky for me, not so much because of Black being a pawn down, but because of that pawn running to h6 or h7. Apparently I'm not the only one, because Black's results overall are not particularly good.
I have found objections against all non 4...c5 variations. At one hand that is convenient, because I do have the Winawer in my repertoire as White as well via 1.d4 e6 2.e4 (I play corr. chess). At the other hand I haven't been able yet to find the right equilibrium between solidity and unbalances for Black. I don't have that problem against the Tarrasch (just 3...Nf6) and the Advance (something with ...Nh6).
  
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #12 - 08/30/11 at 01:18:50
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I honestly do not think that 6...Qa5 is a bad line. It certainly forces White to manoeuvre positionally and slowly instead of attacking rapidly. The 7...Kf8 Winawer lines can be solid if 6...Qa5 is too unfavourable for you. Also interesting is 6...Qc7.

In Svider-Lima, it looks like 15...g5 followed by 16...f5 was unnecessary at that moment. Lima lost a pawn for no compensation shortly thereafter.
  
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #11 - 08/29/11 at 22:08:45
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MNb wrote on 08/29/11 at 20:10:16:
MartinC wrote on 08/29/11 at 13:35:30:
I'd hope that game was just Mosalenko mixing it up vs  Qg4/Nf3. Quite like I'd suspect. Certainly if c4 really is best there, its rather depressing.

Moskalenko wasn't mixing anything, he very much played like Muzychuk-Rajlich, Ohrid 2009, a game he likes.


I have never believed in Qa5. White has a very easy-manouevring game at disposal. I am really sorry for Lima, but today Svidler totally crushed his Blues:

http://chess.ugrasport.com/?page_id=1007&gameid=1000120009
  
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #10 - 08/29/11 at 21:25:24
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My recommendation is anything but solid, but maybe pretty underrated:

3.Nd2 Be7 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4 g5!?

The statistics favour white and it looks even worse, but there is reason to be interested in this aggressive line, since the latest correspondence games were pretty succesful for black - an indication that Black´s chances are better than it´s otb-score indicates.

Take a look at:
6.dxc5 h5!, Derouineau,J (2326)-Weber Widmer,D (2352)/corr ICCF 2003 (0-1)

6.Qh5 cxd4 7.Ngf3 Qc7, Fuhrwerk,K (2122)-Fabig,H (2060)/GER email 2007/UltraCorr3 (0-1)

6.Qh5 cxd4 7.Ndf3 Qc7, Bonatti,W (2344)-Gilles,R (2284)/IECG 2004/UltraCorr3 (1-0), but the loss was caused by mistakes after the opening
  
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #9 - 08/29/11 at 20:10:16
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MartinC wrote on 08/29/11 at 13:35:30:
I'd hope that game was just Mosalenko mixing it up vs  Qg4/Nf3. Quite like I'd suspect. Certainly if c4 really is best there, its rather depressing.

Moskalenko wasn't mixing anything, he very much played like Muzychuk-Rajlich, Ohrid 2009, a game he likes.
  
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #8 - 08/29/11 at 19:12:24
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Maybe the 7...Kf8 Winawer, or the MacCutcheon, as mentioned above. The MacCutcheon leads to similar play to the Winawer.
  
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #7 - 08/29/11 at 14:08:11
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MartinC wrote on 08/29/11 at 13:35:30:
Well overall you'll have to decide where to draw the line in terms of risk/reward. Its certainly not trivial to find a totally secure feeling, fighting response to 3 Nc3. At least one russian trainer seems to like the McCutheon for training super juniors. (Radajabov and Nepo at least iirc.).

3 Nd2 Nf6 is still fine for a fight in some lines, although huge quantities of theory.

As for 3 Nd2 Be7 4 e5 Nh6 5 Ndf3, yes Be7 maybe not ideal if allowing Bxh6, but neither is Nd2 -> f3, especially as e3 is such a nice square for it. And there's 5 .. Nf5. Needs work to decide really Smiley

Oh and I'd hope that game was just Mosalenko mixing it up vs  Qg4/Nf3. Quite like I'd suspect. Certainly if c4 really is best there, its rather depressing.


I will take a look to their games Smiley

Thank you for the kind answer!
  
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Re: C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #6 - 08/29/11 at 13:35:30
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Well overall you'll have to decide where to draw the line in terms of risk/reward. Its certainly not trivial to find a totally secure feeling, fighting response to 3 Nc3. At least one russian trainer seems to like the McCutheon for training super juniors. (Radajabov and Nepo at least iirc.).

3 Nd2 Nf6 is still fine for a fight in some lines, although huge quantities of theory.

As for 3 Nd2 Be7 4 e5 Nh6 5 Ndf3, yes Be7 maybe not ideal if allowing Bxh6, but neither is Nd2 -> f3, especially as e3 is such a nice square for it. And there's 5 .. Nf5. Needs work to decide really Smiley

Oh and I'd hope that game was just Mosalenko mixing it up vs  Qg4/Nf3. Quite like I'd suspect. Certainly if c4 really is best there, its rather depressing.
  
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Re: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #5 - 08/29/11 at 12:42:32
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ErictheRed wrote on 08/29/11 at 03:22:36:
Check this thread: http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1300201492

Also, is there something wrong with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Be7 4.e5 Nh6?  It obviously avoids the 4...c5 5.Qg4 Kf8 line and is maybe worth looking into.


5. Ndf3 followed by Bxh6 can't be good for Black with the bishop in e7 and not in g7 supporting the f6 break. It seems like a worse advance variation with Bxh6. 

Gilchrist is a legend wrote on 08/29/11 at 07:44:43:
Against the Tarrasch whenever I occasionally play the French I have played 3...c5 4. exd5 exd5. I feel like there are more chances to equalise than other lines despite its unpopularity. I always found the positions easy to play with good chances to outplay an opponent positionally.

Against 3. Nc3, maybe Winawer lines such as 3...Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3 6. bxc3 Qa5. It seems fairly solid. The unorthodox lines with 4...Qd7 5. a3 Bf8 are worth consideration also.

Against the Advance Variation, consider the very solid 3...c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 c4.


The Queen's Blues has a very poor score. Black is still fighting for a draw, if White is well prepared there is a little chance only to play for a win. The Author is experiencing some difficulties even in his baby Blues.

[Event "Sitges op 37th"]
[Date "2011.07.23"]
[White "Lacasa Diaz, Jose Antonio"]
[Black "Moskalenko, Viktor"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2392"]
[BlackElo "2591"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5 7. Bd2 Qa4 8. Qg4
g6 9. Nf3 c4 10. Be2 Nc6 11. Qf4 h6 12. Ra2 Bd7 13. O-O Rh7 14. h4 O-O-O 15.
Nh2 Rf8 16. Ng4 Qa5 17. a4 Qd8 18. Qg3 Nce7 19. Ne3 f6 20. f4 h5 21. Bc1 Nh6
22. Ba3 Nef5 23. Nxf5 Nxf5 24. Qf2 Rff7 25. exf6 Qxf6 26. g3 Bxa4 27. Bc5 b5
28. Qf3 Rc7 29. Re1 Rxc5 30. dxc5 Qf8 31. Qf2 Rc7 32. Bf1 Rc6 33. Bh3 Kd7 34.
Re2 Qxc5 35. Qxc5 Rxc5 36. Kf2 Ke7 37. Bxf5 gxf5 38. Re5 Kd6 39. Re1 Rc7 40.
Re2 Rg7 41. Re5 Rg6 42. Re2 Kc5 43. Re1 a5 44. Re5 Kd6 45. Re1 Rg7 46. Re2 Ra7
47. Ke3 Kc5 48. Kd2 Rg7 49. Re3 Rg6 50. Ra1 Kd6 51. Ra2 Rg7 52. Ra1 Ra7 53. Re5
Ra6 54. Ra2 Ra7 55. Re3 Rg7 56. Ra3 Rg4 57. Ra1 Rg7 58. Ra3 Ra7 59. Ra1 Ra6 60.
Ra2 Ra8 61. Ra3 Rg8 62. Ra1 Rg6 63. Re5 Rg7 64. Ra2 Ra7 65. Ra1 Ra6 66. Ra2 Ra7
67. Re3 Rg7 68. Ra3 Ra7 69. Ra1 Ra6 70. Ra2 Ra8 71. Re5 Ra6 72. Ra3 Ra8 73. Ra1
Ra6 74. Ra2 Bb3 75. Ra1 Ba4 76. Ra2 Ra8 77. Ra1 Ra7 78. Ra3 Ra6 79. Ra1 Kc5 80.
Ra3 Kd6 1/2-1/2


I don't consider the Advance to be dangerous, both 6. Nh6 or c4 are fine for Black. 

MartinC wrote on 08/29/11 at 08:45:44:
Depends how sound and solid you want perhaps.

In terms of being bullet proof there's always 3 Nd2 c5 with 3 Nc3 Nf6 ^ 4 Bg5 de 5 Nxe4 Be7 and something vs 4 e5. Those aren't going to get dented theoretically.

Now if you want a real fight, think the way to do it might be to use to massive breadth of French theory to construct a quite broad/ changeable repitoire. Quite easy to make yourself a nightmare to prepare for.

You've got endless lines vs the Tarrasch (its almost like they're playing everything now!). 3 Nc3 a little harder but there's the McCutheon, sundry Winavers etc.
(6.. Qa5, 7.. Kf8, a few lines in 7.. o-o and very strong folk playing the poisoned pawn.).

And thats staying relatively respectable Smiley


I can't decide what to play in case of Nd2 and Nc3 only. The motto is "fighting for a win", I do want to play in an aggressive but sound way, I don't need to follow drawy lines as Black Smiley
  
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Re: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #4 - 08/29/11 at 08:45:44
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Depends how sound and solid you want perhaps.

In terms of being bullet proof there's always 3 Nd2 c5 with 3 Nc3 Nf6 ^ 4 Bg5 de 5 Nxe4 Be7 and something vs 4 e5. Those aren't going to get dented theoretically.

Now if you want a real fight, think the way to do it might be to use to massive breadth of French theory to construct a quite broad/ changeable repitoire. Quite easy to make yourself a nightmare to prepare for.

You've got endless lines vs the Tarrasch (its almost like they're playing everything now!). 3 Nc3 a little harder but there's the McCutheon, sundry Winavers etc.
(6.. Qa5, 7.. Kf8, a few lines in 7.. o-o and very strong folk playing the poisoned pawn.).

And thats staying relatively respectable Smiley
  
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Re: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #3 - 08/29/11 at 07:44:43
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Against the Tarrasch whenever I occasionally play the French I have played 3...c5 4. exd5 exd5. I feel like there are more chances to equalise than other lines despite its unpopularity. I always found the positions easy to play with good chances to outplay an opponent positionally.

Against 3. Nc3, maybe Winawer lines such as 3...Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3 6. bxc3 Qa5. It seems fairly solid. The unorthodox lines with 4...Qd7 5. a3 Bf8 are worth consideration also.

Against the Advance Variation, consider the very solid 3...c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 c4.
  
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Re: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #2 - 08/29/11 at 05:01:40
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If it was all Qg4, I would have no hesitation. Nh6 seems fine. Does anyone still play Qg4? 

But the Universal/Korchnoi Gambit still troubles me. 

Winawer Qg4-g7? Not sure, check Shulman games to see what is happening.
  
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Re: An Ultimate French Repertoire
Reply #1 - 08/29/11 at 03:22:36
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Check this thread: http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1300201492

Also, is there something wrong with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Be7 4.e5 Nh6?  It obviously avoids the 4...c5 5.Qg4 Kf8 line and is maybe worth looking into.
  
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C00-C19: An Ultimate French Repertoire
08/28/11 at 23:24:46
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Hello everyone,

I'm a 2300+ player and I'm trying to build a sound-and-solid French repertoire. I have already bought the "must-have" French books ("Flexible French", "Wonderful Winawer", "French Repertoire", "Attacking Chess" and "Play the French") and I read them all.
I would like to have some practical suggestions for my repertoire from the French forum experts:

1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2. 

At first I was really impressed by how Morozevich's 3...Be7 scored, but later I found 4. e5 c5 5. Qg4 Kf8 (the only serious try) 6. dxc5 rather unpleasant to meet (there is no way to equalize, white is clear better), then I ended up admitting that it may be only used for its surprise factor and its sharpness. 

Finally I can't decide between Tarrasch 3...c5 and Qxd5 lines which are completely sound but a bit drawish, and 3...Nf6 that Vitiugov does not recommend.

1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3. 

I have noticed that Moskalenko and Vitiugov do not like to play the Winawer tabyia as Black (6...Ne7 7. Qg4). If the first has never played it in his chess career (adopting exclusively the Qa5 Queen's Blues), the second switched recently to the Steinitz 3...Nf6.

My question is: are there lines or recent novelties that seriously put Black in difficulty? What I studied (not in depth yet) seems to be very unclear and unbalanced. I would appreciate Your opinion. 

I have never mentioned Williams because I find most of his lines quite speculative and unsound. Please do not suggest them, they simply don't fit in my French repertoire.

Thanks for Your help  Roll Eyes
« Last Edit: 08/29/11 at 13:01:45 by Smyslov_Fan »  
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