Anything but the Sicilian
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Hi erad. As I understand you.. you don't want to read much theory and you want to get unbalanced position against e4. You want dinamic chances but not a sharp position.. Hmmm.. These things are connected... you can't get one without the other. To play well in unbalanced positions you have to be very well prepared.
Try to play Pirc/Ufimcev. But it's also not easy way out of the theory. In many positions after blacks c5 it gets to some sicilian positions.
Good luck
I agree, the french is active and easy to learn.
What lines of the French do you recommend? I know black doesn't have much choice about how to play against the Advance and Exchange, but what about against 3. Nc3? Do you like the Winawer or something else?
--Fromper
Don't use the french... it's boring.
The french is vastly underrated imo. Against 3Nc3 I prefer the winawer but some prefer the classical with 3Nf6. I think you should try both and decide which suits you better. I play mostly sicilians as black in serious games but my backup is the french if I decide not to play a sicilian.
I like the classical (Nf6) against Nc3.
I used to play the sicilian all the time (first the dragon then the schveshnikov) but they just didn't suit me, even though I desperately wanted them to. I read a review of Ari Zeigler's Chessbase DVD on the french and got keen to the idea. Ordered the DVD...started playing the french....fell in love!
It's all a matter of taste, dont let rumors about openings being "boring" or "positional" etc...fool you, try out a bunch and see what you like, its all about comfort.
I actually like the French when my opponents play the Advance variation, and I can handle the Exchange variation. But at my level, very few people do anything else, so I'm not really all that familiar with 3. Nd2 or 3. Nc3.
--Fromper
I don't know if it fits within your description, but you should try out Alekhine's Defence.
I don't know if it fits within your description, but you should try out Alekhine's Defence.
I see the advance variation more than anything else, and black can reach equality against it VERY easily. The exchange is boring as hell but again...easy equality.
I always see people refer to the Exchange French as boring, and that simply isn't true. Black should be happy to see this variation!
Yes, the pawn structure is symmetric, but his queen's bishop isn't blocked in, and black has plenty of ways to intentionally make sure that nothing else about the position is symmetric. Most French players don't like it because the positions aren't French-like, but that's because they don't realize that it's better for them than any other line of the French!
The key is to not bother trying to attack up the open e file, since there is only one open file, so both players will be trying to use it. Instead, castle on the opposite side from your opponent, then march your pawns at your opponent's castled king, supported by all your pieces. Usually, this means castling queen side and pushing your h pawn while your rook is still behind it.
When I was new to the game, I bought an opening repertoire book called Action Chess by CJS Purdy. It's really a series of articles that were later collected together, not intentionally designed to be published as a book. I don't use most of the repertoire that he recommended there, but one of the lines he recommends is an oddball variation of the Rubenstein French. While I don't use that line, I do use that book for the chapter on how to handle it if your opponent exchanges on you. That chapter is worth the price of the book by itself for anyone who plays the French. Actually, now that I'm starting to play the French again regularly, I think I might just go back and reread that again.
--Fromper
erad1288 wrote:
I have been fighting with myself for quite a while trying to find a defense that is positionally unbalanced with dynamic chances for black against e4. I know the first thing people tell me is "sicilian" "sicilian" but I don't quite have desire to spend months booking up on highly tactical lines which if not completely known and understood will lead to a quick defeat. I tried out the Caro-Kann, but tends to be quite boring with few chances to put white under even if white makes the "little mistakes"...
Positionally unbalanced and dynamic against e4, but you don't want the Sicilian? That's like saying you want a feathery pet that flies, but you don't want a bird. (OK, OK.....enough with the smart a** remarks. 
) But seriously, I think you may need to reevaluate exactly what you want here. You want to "put White under" if he/she makes the "little mistakes", but you don't want anything highly tactical? I'm sorry, but crushing your opponent after he/she makes a small mistake involves lots of tactics, and you will in fact need to spend a lot of time getting booked up.
Somebody did mention Alekhine's Defense, which I think is a terrific suggestion. But again, you can get into some highly tactical positions using it, and once more you will need to spend time getting booked up because I guarantee that you will NOT figure out all of these tactics over-the-board.
It's kinda hard to explain. As black against d4, I use the cambridge springs variation of the queen's gambit declined. This opening ensures equality and is not wildy complicated, but it offers quite a few chances where white can quickly lose the initiative and be put on the defensive. Again its not really complicated, even the line where white sacs a piece for three pawns. Good, solid, and offering realistic chances for black to swing the initiative if white plays carelessly. I guess what I am asking is for a defense that gives a quiet positional game where careless play doesn't lead black to equality but advantage. For anyone who's wondering here is what the Cambridge Springs looks like
Oct 10, 2007
0
#16
alekines defence is good stategicly and scandernavian defense leeds to plenty of blod shed in blacks favor
erad1288 wrote:It's kinda hard to explain. As black against d4, I use the cambridge springs variation of the queen's gambit declined. This opening ensures equality and is not wildy complicated, but it offers quite a few chances where white can quickly lose the initiative and be put on the defensive. Again its not really complicated, even the line where white sacs a piece for three pawns. Good, solid, and offering realistic chances for black to swing the initiative if white plays carelessly. I guess what I am asking is for a defense that gives a quiet positional game where careless play doesn't lead black to equality but advantage. For anyone who's wondering here is what the Cambridge Springs looks like
Gotcha. That makes sense now. Which variation of the Caro-Kann were you playing? You may want to try 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Nxf6 gxf6 where you eventually play Nd7, Qc7, Bd6, O-O-O, and have an open g-file to launch an attack. Black's position is pretty solid as well. But e4, of course, is generally much more tactical than d4, so there really isn't a defense to e4 that's equivalent to the Cambridge Springs.
Take care, and good luck.
I still don't like the french exchange. True it gives black equality on move 3, but its just so darn boring! A nice balanced symmetrical position makes me want to barf! Its the imbalances that make positions interesting.
1.hi guys...can you help me to understand what is the difference between strategy and plan?
2.if you are a writer can you use the word strategy in the sentence even though the story you are writing has no competition?.for example i think thier is no such word ''escape strategy'' only ''escape plan''.
3.what is the difference between plan and method?
4.what is strategically position?
I have been fighting with myself for quite a while trying to find a defense that is positionally unbalanced with dynamic chances for black against e4. I know the first thing people tell me is "sicilian" "sicilian" but I don't quite have desire to spend months booking up on highly tactical lines which if not completely known and understood will lead to a quick defeat. I tried out the Caro-Kann, but tends to be quite boring with few chances to put white under even if white makes the "little mistakes". So my question is what opening/openings would allow for an interesting game with reasonable chances for black to go for a win in the middlegame? Thanks again.