From what you say I would have given the Taimanov a second thought. The new anti-Sics may be managable especially since you already play the French and can switch to a French setup at certain occasions. Knowledge of the Najdorf is also valuable to you if you aim Scheveningen-type setups (with much less theory though). The structures with the dark-squared Bishop outside the little centre are also quite interesting. I consider the Maroczy tries the least favourable for White against the Taimanov (in comparison to Acc. Dragon & Kan).

As a bonus expansion theme you may also consider adding next year the Kan in your rep, for variety and sharpness when needed.

Najdorf.

Hi Everyone,

I have just started playing the Benoni again after receiving GM Petrov's new book on it, and am really enjoying the dynamic unbalanced positions that arise nearly every game! But alas, I am not sure if I can find an "equivalent" opening against 1.e4 for black.

For those of you who are Benoni fans, what do you like to play vs. 1.e4? I am looking for something in the "spirit" of the Benoni -- something that forces white to play an imbalanced position, in which he has trouble keeping control, or getting a slight risk-free advantage. 

A few openings I have played in the past come to mind. The Najdorf is an obvious candidate, but it has a lot of theory and I have played it so much in the past that I feel it is rather "limiting" for my chess education, and some of the anti-Sicilians are annoying because of move-orders. The Sveshnikov is an interesting choice, and causes me no anti-Sicilian problems, but it has so many long forcing lines in which a tiny slip can lead to immediate disaster for black, that for sub-2000 players like myself it doesn't really seem worth the effort -- and a lot of lines seem drawish anyways when I actually do manage to remember 20+ moves of theory (opposite bishops in a simplified position, defending a worse pawn structure endgame). The Pirc I played for a little while once, but am not sure if I like it -- and if I am insisting on a sharp, win-at-all costs type game, it kind of seems like an inferior try to the Sicilians, though perhaps less explored too, which allows for more creativity (definitely considering giving it another go). Right now my "sharp" line against 1.e4 is the French, using Moskalenko's recommendations, but I really don't like the exchange variation (boring and lower rateds often play it against me), and am not that thrilled about the black side of the Tarrasch either (Winawer and Advance variations are a joy to play, but sometimes I go for many games without getting them). Plus getting the same central pawn structure in most of my games gets a bit stale after a while (one could say the same about the Benoni, but I face 1.e4 a lot more often than 1.d4). 

I have also thought of taking up a new Sicilian, such as the Taimanov, but am not sure if it would give me the kind of positions I am looking for -- plus learning it from scratch, along with a whole new batch of anti-Sicilians (many that I used when I played the Najdorf/Svesh probably won't work for move order reasons/e6 structure) seems rather daunting. 

I am looking to develop a long-term tournament-worthy repertoire with black, that involves one sharp and one solid opening against 1.e4 and 1.d4. Right now I have the Caro and the Slav as my solid lines (and they can be very sharp at times), but finding a sharp/play to win with Black line I like against 1.e4 that isn't a tonne of work seems to be a bit of a challenge (I am not allergic to theory, but stuff like the Najdorf Poisoned Pawn is just too much work for the amount that I would see it in my games; plus I like to play chess, not "theory"). 

What do you like to play??

Cheers!