kylemeister wrote on 07/11/18 at 18:19:03:

Correct guess

Have a nice day.

Hi.

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 h6 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Nc5 is what Negi recommends. That could be worth knowing of course.

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 e5
reminds me of:
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 e5
Which I remember seeing in Tzermiadianos book on the Tarrasch French (How to Beat the French Defence, 2008) and thinking: ok there are going to be lots of strange sidelines in this book.

In both the Caro and French positions I think 5.Nf3 is preferable to taking the pawn. Seems very easy for white to play. The Caro version may be a very slight improvement though but still... it doesn't seem to merit a very big yay.

Have a nice day.

This is a dangerous path. I should stick to the well-trodden path, I know I should. But I can't resist exploring some of the following. I'm sure they have some merit in shorter games, but does either of the following warrant deeper analysis?

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 h6

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 e5 5.dxe5 Qa5+

One classic example of the latter (Steinitz-von Popiel, Cologne 1898) continued: 6.Nd2 Qxe5+ 7.Be2 Nf6 8.Ngf3 Qc7 9.O-O Be7 10.b3 Bf5 11.Bb2 Nbd7 12.Nd4 Bg6 13.f4 Bd6 14.g3 O-O-O, which doesn't look horrible for Black. Although I assume that 6.Bd2 or 6.Qd2 might pose more serious challenges.

I guess my other question is whether this second line doesn't simply transpose into Scandinavian territory?