True but also given the four different possible first moves in the book, once you learn the Panov-Botvinnik you can also play 1.c4 c6 2.e4

Hi.

I got the Axel Smith e3 book before christmas

Also somewhat unluckily played a rated game as white the day after getting the book, without having had time to look. Got demolished in:
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.c4 0-0 5.Be2 d6 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.0-0 e5 8.Qc2 Qe7
Turns out when I open the book GM Smith dissuades from playing specifically this line unprepared (oops ).

I really cannot seem to find the 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.e3 3...Nf6/3...Nc6 coverage unfortunately. Maybe it's shell-shock from seeing all the different variations in the book.

Have a nice day.

The Smith book is worth a look. A fair bit of explanation is included.

Hi.

an ordinary chessplayer wrote on 11/17/22 at 03:54:14:

Yes. It's a possible way of playing and seems very reasonable for black. At the same time there is some basic pawn structure imbalance early on so I probably wouldn't mind playing white so much.

One can also consider not going early Be2 and then positions can just straight up transpose to a normal exchange Caro Kann.
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.e3 c5 3.d4 cxd4 4.exd4 d5 
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Nf3 Nf6

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.e3 c5 3.Be2 just feels clever because you are getting some more information from black and can can still avoid going d4 depending on what you see; yet in another way it is more flexible to go 3.d4 immediately.

MartinC wrote on 11/17/22 at 08:50:21:

I think if black is playing d6 at some point I would be quite happy as white irregardless of what variation will actually appear . There is some basic imbalance at least.

Kerangali wrote on 11/17/22 at 11:11:16:

I'll likely get that book. Thanks.

an ordinary chessplayer wrote on 11/17/22 at 14:23:59:

Apart from the Grünfeld and symmetrical English I also don't necessarily like to allow 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4. It's not that the variation itself is not interesting... it's mainly that when I play 1.Nf3 I like very, very simple positions.

Regards.
/ CbT

There's a book by Axel Smith called "the e3 poison" covering this kind of system (Nf3, e3 and usually  c4). Not especially venomous, but one can't prevent White from crawling if he wants to. As for Grunfeld players, there's a warning from IM Donaldson (in his grunfeld books review) about "the sneaky 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 0-0 5.Be2 hoping for 5 ... d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.e4 where there is no ... Nxc3 but White has spent two moves advancing his e-pawn. This system is not analyzed by Zherebukh while Kovalchuk recommends 5 ... b6 which has been the choice of Grünfeld specialists Vachier-Lagrave and Nepomniachtchi."

Against these Nf3 d-pawn lines, I always aim for an early ...c5xd4 as a simple solution. Here 4...cxd4 5.exd4 Bf5 should be compared with 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Nf3 Bf5.