Something Different vs. the French Defense: Part 1
Many 1.e4 players find themselves annoyed when facing 1...e6 in reply. Wouldn't it be nice to give the French player the drubbing he or she so richly deserves? (French Defense players, ignore that comment as a joke, and please avert your eyes now.)
Needless to say, I can't truthfully promise an opening variation that will do that. If I could, I'd be a published chess author! What I can do is share an untrustworthy but lovable old cur of a variation. My results with it, primarily in blitz but against good opposition, have been very good, which is a testament to its dangerousness if not its soundness. In other words, it's worth trying, but caveat emptor - especially considering that the "buyer" hasn't paid anything at all!
1.e4 e6 2.c4
There it is, folks: impressed? Stay tuned, it gets better.
2...d5
2...c5 is a legitimate way to bail out, and perhaps I'll discuss that move in a future post.
3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3
Now we have the real beginning point of the line - the ordinary 4.exd5 would transpose to a version of the Exchange French that's reasonably good for Black. Of course, this position is even better for Black, but non-standard play will be required.
4...dxe4
Other moves are possible here too, but again, that's a story for another day.
5.Bc4
Now it's starting to become clear what White is up to, but wait: much more fun is on the way!
5...Qe7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.d3!
What?!
7...exd3+ 8.Kf1! c6 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Re1
To put it mildly, this isn't forced. But Black's moves are extremely natural, and I've won dozens, possibly hundreds of blitz games against masters and up along these very lines. Here are three quick examples:
DM-NN (2504), ICC 3 0, 1999
1.e4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3 dxe4 5.Bc4 Qe7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.d3 exd3+ 8.Kf1 Nbd7 9.Bg5 Nc5 10.Qa3 Qe5 11.Re1 Nfe4 12.Nf3 Qf5 13.Bxd3 Nxd3 14.Qa4+ Bd7 15.Rxe4+ 1-0
DM-NN (2236), ICC 3 0, 2000
1.e4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3 dxe4 5.Bc4 Qf6 6.Nc3 Qg6 7.Nge2 Bd6 8.d3 exd3 9.Nf4 Bxf4 10.Bxf4 d2+ 11.Kxd2! Nc6 12.Nd5 Kd8 13.Nxc7 Nf6 14.Rad1! Bg4 15.Qxb7 Rb8 16.Kc1+ Bxd1 17.Rxd1+ Ke7 18.Nd5+ Kf8 19.Bd6+ Kg8 20.Ne7+ 1-0
DM-NN (2402), ICC 1 0, 2000
1.e4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3 Nf6 (A different line, but the "traditional" motifs arise soon enough.) 5.Nc3 d4 6.e5 (N.B. 6.Bc4!! is an important improvement I've discovered since then.) dxc3 7.exf6 cxd2+ 8.Bxd2 gxf6?! 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.Bc4 Qe7+ 11.Kf1! Kf8 12.Re1 Qd7 13.Bh6+ Kg8 14.Bxf7+ Qxf7 15.Re8+ 1-0
(You can replay those games here.)
[N.B. This is reposted from my previous blog.]
Needless to say, I can't truthfully promise an opening variation that will do that. If I could, I'd be a published chess author! What I can do is share an untrustworthy but lovable old cur of a variation. My results with it, primarily in blitz but against good opposition, have been very good, which is a testament to its dangerousness if not its soundness. In other words, it's worth trying, but caveat emptor - especially considering that the "buyer" hasn't paid anything at all!
1.e4 e6 2.c4
There it is, folks: impressed? Stay tuned, it gets better.
2...d5
2...c5 is a legitimate way to bail out, and perhaps I'll discuss that move in a future post.
3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3
Now we have the real beginning point of the line - the ordinary 4.exd5 would transpose to a version of the Exchange French that's reasonably good for Black. Of course, this position is even better for Black, but non-standard play will be required.
4...dxe4
Other moves are possible here too, but again, that's a story for another day.
5.Bc4
Now it's starting to become clear what White is up to, but wait: much more fun is on the way!
5...Qe7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.d3!
What?!
7...exd3+ 8.Kf1! c6 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Re1
To put it mildly, this isn't forced. But Black's moves are extremely natural, and I've won dozens, possibly hundreds of blitz games against masters and up along these very lines. Here are three quick examples:
DM-NN (2504), ICC 3 0, 1999
1.e4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3 dxe4 5.Bc4 Qe7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.d3 exd3+ 8.Kf1 Nbd7 9.Bg5 Nc5 10.Qa3 Qe5 11.Re1 Nfe4 12.Nf3 Qf5 13.Bxd3 Nxd3 14.Qa4+ Bd7 15.Rxe4+ 1-0
DM-NN (2236), ICC 3 0, 2000
1.e4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3 dxe4 5.Bc4 Qf6 6.Nc3 Qg6 7.Nge2 Bd6 8.d3 exd3 9.Nf4 Bxf4 10.Bxf4 d2+ 11.Kxd2! Nc6 12.Nd5 Kd8 13.Nxc7 Nf6 14.Rad1! Bg4 15.Qxb7 Rb8 16.Kc1+ Bxd1 17.Rxd1+ Ke7 18.Nd5+ Kf8 19.Bd6+ Kg8 20.Ne7+ 1-0
DM-NN (2402), ICC 1 0, 2000
1.e4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3 Nf6 (A different line, but the "traditional" motifs arise soon enough.) 5.Nc3 d4 6.e5 (N.B. 6.Bc4!! is an important improvement I've discovered since then.) dxc3 7.exf6 cxd2+ 8.Bxd2 gxf6?! 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.Bc4 Qe7+ 11.Kf1! Kf8 12.Re1 Qd7 13.Bh6+ Kg8 14.Bxf7+ Qxf7 15.Re8+ 1-0
(You can replay those games here.)
[N.B. This is reposted from my previous blog.]
Related Posts (on one page):
- Something Different vs. the French: Part 4
- Something Different vs. the French: Part 3
- Something Different vs. the French: Part 2
- Something Different vs. the French Defense: Part 1
Posted by Dennis Monokroussos on
Thursday March 15, 2007 at 1:31am
Objectively, though it won't matter unless you're playing someone very strong or very well-informed, 2.b3 is the better move. But if we're being objective, 2.d4 is correct.
Nowadays I just play the main line 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 though I'm still considering the Tarrasch, but I'd need to get up to date on its theory since its somewhat further removed from my usual playing style.
Perseus: I'll address 2...c5 in a subsequent post. It's a perfectly good move, but you shouldn't fear it, either. Still, as long as you feel stylistically comfortable with 3.Nc3, I'd recommend sticking to that, as it's the most principled approach. (And don't forget to consider 3.e5 if you're determined to switch.)