Bibs, don´t get me wrong, in general I like Whites game after 9.c4. I just don´t think 9... dxc4 is worse than 9... Nb6 or 9... d4. At least Whites practical results have been excellent whatever Black plays.

The line we discuss here is certainly not attractive for Black unless he is happy with grinding out a draw. I just don´t want to allow my opponents going into a drawn endgame without much trouble. That is certainly possible here with your suggestions.

15.b4 is an idea but Black may avoid this by playing 14... a5 instead of Rd8. Even Houdini doesn´t see anything better than transposing back to the game here with 15.Nf3 d3 16.Qf1 Rd8.

Probably White has to look for an improvement earlier. Perhaps 14.Ne4 or even earlier 12.Bf4/12.Nd2 is worth a look.

But it doesn´t seem as if White has a significant advantage here.

True, but to me the question is if White has any theoretical advantage here. Despite beeing a pawn down the Endposition of this game looks like a comfortable draw and if White is able to get any advantage in this line it seems to be very small. 

Black has not much chances to go wrong here and the line looks playable if he is satisfied with a draw.

RdC wrote on 03/19/12 at 20:40:55:


The score is indeed quite good for White but still Moskalenko claims the d-pawn to be strong and the position to be equal after "11.Nxd4 cxd4 12. Rd1 Qb6! 13. Nd2 Nc5" citing his rapidgame against Sibarowski from 1997. I wasn´t able to find the further score but there is another game in Megabase by Moskalenko in this line which ended in a draw:

parisestmagique wrote on 03/19/12 at 15:27:38:


After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg5!? is interesting and recommended by Jones. Black may try to avoid this with 4... Nge7 intending to play ... g6 next move, which of course is also covered by Jones.

Regarding the main line after 9.c4 Moskalenko in "The Flexible French" offers 9... dxc4 (dismissed with "?!" by Jones) 10.dxc4 Nd4! as leading to equality. This last move isn´t mentioned by Jones.

It will always be possible for Black to avoid the tabiya position with an exchange variation .. dxe4 or possibly a very early ..b5.

White doesn't play Qe2 until needed. So you wait for .. d5 to be played. In the Fischer form of the line, you played N1d2 and then Re1 to defend the e5 pawn. In the Qe2 system you save a move by leaving the knight on b1, so giving time to sneak in c4 before Black plays b5. 

I'm not sure it works as well in a true French. You can play 1 e4 e6 2 d3 d5 3 Qe2, but then Black has exchange variation possibilities by taking on e4 and then trying ideas like .. b6 to threaten .. Ba6.

Which of the books mentioned so far?

...And the old line was so romantic!.. 

I also think this approach looks more promising than the old main line (even though Fischer liked it anyway).

IIRC, Jones likes an early Bg5 against the ...g6 lines, to disturb Black.

I noticed that Glenn Flear mentioned that line prominently in his review of Gawain's book in NIC Yearbook, though he didn't comment on just how long it's been around (I recall it getting some attention in a source from years before Gawain was born --  Raymond Keene's "Flank Openings").