Laramonet wrote on 11/06/18 at 16:30:40:

Whether it's best for Black remains to been seen (who am I to contradict titled players?!) but I can tell you what IM Cummings skipped.
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 a6 5.b3 c5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.d4 Nc6 8.Bb2
a)8... cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bd6 10.Be2 O-O 11.O-O Re8 12.Rc1 Bb8!? was recommended by Aagaard and Ntirlis in their book about the Tarrasch.
b)8...Bd6 9.Be2 O-O 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.O-O Re8 or 11...Ba7.

You can also reach line b via 4...Be7 5.b3 O-O 6.Bb2 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.d4 Nc6 9.Be2 a6 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.O-O.

Hi All,
Playing the QGD as Black, my reply to the English starts 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5. In a recent game I was surprised by the continuation 3.e3 and continued 3..., Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.b3 b6 6.Bb2 Bb7 7.Be2 c5 8.cd ed 9.d4 0-0. I tried to generate play based on Ne4 and was not unhappy with what I had put together. I have since discovered that this is the line for White recommended in The English by David Cummings. My question is, is there a known "best" reply for Black ? I have come up with 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. b3 0-0 6.Bb2 but having found the Karjakin v Anand game, I liked the white position. Therefore i have come up with 6..., dc 7.Bc4 c5. Cummungs suggests 8.Qc2 is okay but goes no further. I have found two Matlakov games where he replied cd to white's d4 and got good play on the queenside. In the first he played a6 and b5 and drew and six months later played a6 and b6 and won. A little less clear is a game where So as white held back the d pawn, one of the points of the line I believe and played his rooks to d1 and c1 and included d3, eventually expanding on the queenside with b4. Not terrifying but it seemed to work well.
Anybody else come up against it as Black ?