Play chess online, online games, chess teams, chess clubs, chess puzzles, chess games database, board games, free chess online, chess league, chess games, free online chess games and more...

Tags: online chess, chess online, play chess online, chess online, play chess, play chess, backgammon online

Chess Forum
mailcafe.net   << online chess - < chess - chess > - chess online >>
FromMessage
Posted by houseofcook
mailcafe.net

6/16/2008
10:29:18

Play online chess
Subject: French Defence, What do you play as White.

Message:
Hi there,

A question for players who play the French defence as their main opening.
What openings would you play as white ? I know this is dependant on the response by black. Is it a similar setup to the French, or totally unrelated?
What was your thinking in choosing these setups ?


Posted by ionadowman
mailcafe.net

6/16/2008
13:38:35

Play online chess
My own favorite...

Message:
... for White is 3.Nc3, hoping for the Winawer (an opening I like as Black as well, which says something about this line): 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5. 3.Nc3 and if Black plays 3...Bb4 we have the Winawer line, leading to a good fighting game. Black can try instead the exchange on e4 (I have a consultation game going on Gameknot at the moment in which the opponents have played this). Or he can try 3...Nf6, an OK line, but one I dislike as Black.

Playing the French OTB almost exclusively for several years, I found four opponents out of five favoured the Tarrasch, 3.Nd2, keeping the c-pawn free to advance. Not particularly committal, it's not easy for Black to get a hold on the ensuing game. I favoured the Guimard (3...Nc6) with considerable success, but blocking Black's c-pawn isn't everyone's cup o' java.

Finally, there's the more committal Advance Variation: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 (3...c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 are often played. White can then continue with the "standard" 6.Be2, or try the more ambitious 6.Bd3, possibly heading for the violent Milner-Barry Gambit: 6...cxd4 7.cxd4 Bd7 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.Nc3 Qxe5 11.Re1 ... An example is the game kikoursus vs ionadowman played in 2005.

There may be other lines (I gather 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 is sometimes played), but these are the main ones.

Cheers,
Ion


Posted by kansaspatzer
mailcafe.net

6/16/2008
14:48:14

Play online chess


Message:
I think he's asking what openings French players play when they're White. But FWIW, I play 2.Qe2 when faced with the French.
———
On Chess: Game wading into waves of change — Like so much in contemporary life, chess - like an onrushing river - is characterized by constant change. Bobby Fischer had the equivalent of a dozen or more doctorates in chess. He studied and assimilated - like no one else before him - what seemed at the time to be a massive classical chess heritage. Grandmasters today have access to a minimum database of more than 4 million games, far eclipsing the chess legacy that Fischer inherited - and that database is increasing at an accelerating rate. Setting up the pieces, playing through a game or games and reviewing relevant positions are painfully time-consuming. Fortunately, chess software and the computer screen speed ...
Posted by chessisvanity
mailcafe.net

6/16/2008
22:34:55

Play online chess
pffft...

Message:
Throw them off....I play the exchange.

Why would I sit there and let a guy play his favorite opening?

If i play 1.e4 and he plays 1...e6 I know he knows the French.

So i play 2.d4...d5

3.exd5!

Yes some say this might be drawish....but unless he is 2200 or better then i have the advantage.

The same goes with the caro-kann. The exchange variation!!
———
After Decades in Top Ranks, a Shot at the Title, Finally — Chess players usually reach their peak in their 20s, so how is it that the grandmaster Boris Gelfand is getting his first crack at becoming world chess champion when he is 43? Gelfand, whose Candidates Matches victory in May earned him the right to play Viswanathan Anand for the title next year, said he was encouraged by the example of Viktor Korchnoi. When he was in his late 40s, Korchnoi, now 80, played for the chess championship twice. “Korchnoi is kind of inspiration for me and for all of us,” Gelfand said in a recent telephone interview, quoting Korchnoi’s advice that “if you want to improve, you have to learn new things all the time.” Gelfand said he changed his opening repertory before ...
Posted by houseofcook
mailcafe.net

6/16/2008
23:27:35

Play online chess
French Defence,what do you play as white.

Message:
Thanks for the replies.
It was interesting to find out what French players would play against the French.
I appreciate the in depth reply from ionadowman, but I did mean what does a French player play as white, what would be your initial moves, would you start with 1.d4 or 1. e4 or something else ?
———
Chennai make bid to host 2012 world title match — Chennai, India, has made a bid, backed by the Tamil Nadu state government, to host the 2012 Vishy Anand (India) verses Boris Gelfand (Israel) world title match. The world chess governing body Fide will now decide between Chennai and an earlier bid from Moscow. Magnus Carlsen, world No1 at 20, and Sergey Karjakin, No4 at 21, are exceptional for their age, yet they now face a challenge from two still younger chess grandmasters who are advancing fast up the rankings. Italy's Fabiano Caruana, 18, took first prize at New Delhi last month and is ranked in the top 20 GMs, while Anish Giri, 17, won the Dutch chess championship by a two-point margin. Giri is reaching his rating targets at a younger age than ...
Posted by chessisvanity
mailcafe.net

6/16/2008
23:31:54

Play online chess
...

Message:
well duh...

A french player will have an advantage playing against the French so I imagine they play 1.e4 as white.
———
Bobby Fischer: How the king of chess lost his crown — By Garry Kasparov. Bobby Fischer was the chess world’s flawed genius. His mercurial brilliance was undisputed, but his fragile mental health led to poisonous and very public outbursts - especially after 9/11 - that prompted global revulsion. Garry Kasparov, himself world chess champion for 20 years, remembers with fondness and frustration the man he most wishes he had played: It would be impossible for me to write dispassionately about Bobby Fischer even if I were to try. I was born the year he achieved a perfect score at the US Chess Championship in 1963, 11 wins with no losses or draws. He was only 20 at that point but it had been obvious for years that he was destined to become ...
Posted by ionadowman
mailcafe.net

6/17/2008
00:44:42

Play online chess
Sorry -

Message:
- Misunderstood you to mean what would I play if faced with the French.

But you can infer that I was not afraid to face the French myself, so would open 1.e4 at least sometimes.

But my stock opening as White, for even longer than the French was when I was Black, was the English Opening: 1.c4. 1.e4 was more of a "change" opening, just for the sake of variety. Some "English" players tend to stick with "pure" English positions, but I was more than happy to transpose into King's Indian Defences (from White's perspective), Sicilians Reversed or (surprisingly frequently) Maroczy Binds. Quite a few French defence player like the King's Indian Attack as White, but I never had much luck with it...

Cheers,
Ion
———
When not seeing is believing — This week Toronto is hosting the 2011 Canadian Open Chess Championship, and although I was not able to participate in the tournament, I had the unique good fortune to be there for the weekend to conduct a blindfold simultaneous exhibition. This is not the first time I have played multiple games of chess while blindfolded, but this one upped the ante. My usual blindfold limit is five boards simultaneously, and I've played with this set up a number of times. But this time I was pitted against six people, a feat I have only accomplished once - and that was more than 25 years ago. Adding to the challenge was the strength of the chess players. Normally, I recommend my opposition to be ...
Posted by lighttotheright
mailcafe.net

6/18/2008
12:53:52

Play online chess


Message:
Ion,

You and I apparently like the same openings with the same variations! That's spooky. Maybe we know some things others don't.:-O


Posted by ionadowman
mailcafe.net

6/18/2008
13:43:38

Play online chess
...

Message:
Ken -
I wonder what they can be?? :-/

Maybe we just like lines with a bit of fight in them?
(I have to admit, though, my record with the English on GK hasn't been all that wonderful...)

Cheers,
Ion


Posted by premium_steve
mailcafe.net

7/07/2008
12:25:10

Play online chess


Message:
i'm a french player now (i used to play the alekhine and scandinavian), and i most often prefer 1.e4.
it's true that as black i like to play fairly solidly with 1.e6 because i have found that most lines give me a position i am comfortable with - without much risk of being a lot worse out of the opening.
as white i feel i can take more liberties in an open style game and look for some kind of attack. (that being said, i still fear open sicilians as white!)

sometimes i'll give 1.d4 or 1.f4 a try, or maybe 1.g3.


Posted by markb56
mailcafe.net

7/13/2008
15:44:40

Play online chess
Maginot Line / Hitler Gambit

Message:
If I were playing white against the French I would try to try to get black to play the Maginot Line after which it's an easy matter to maneuver your pieces around the flank. However, white must be careful and avoid the now refuted Hitler Gambit, because if white gets too bold he will find himself fighting on two different fronts.


Posted by kansaspatzer
mailcafe.net

7/13/2008
17:19:33

Play online chess


Message:
I just recently switched to the French and I normally play e4, although there are certain opponents I'll play d4 against. I must admit I'm not all that booked up against the Sicilian but playing lots of Gameknot games using the opening DB helps when you get OTB, IMO.

Posted by wulebgr
mailcafe.net

7/25/2008
12:03:17

Play online chess
As I French player,

Message:
I understand the futility of 1.e4. I play 1.g3, 1.d4, 1.c4, and 1.Nf3, reserving 1.e4 for weaker opponents and blitz.

Posted by kansaspatzer
mailcafe.net

7/26/2008
22:27:47

Play online chess


Message:
So what is the Hitler gambit? The only Google hit for it is this page...

Posted by jstevens1
mailcafe.net

7/26/2008
23:49:54

Play online chess
Expert Draw!

Message:
Hi everyone! Just to let you know that there is a game on the Public Annotations where I had the black pieces and played against The Tarrasch. The game is called Expert Draw because at the time my opponent was 832 points north of my rating. Despite a 2 pawn deficit I managed to draw it. This was a big result because it is still the only time I have managed to draw against an Expert. Ionadowman has already commented on the game but if any of you have anything to add please feel free to do so.

Hope you have all enjoyed your weekend.

Cheers and bye for now.

Joanne


Posted by savage4731
mailcafe.net

7/29/2008
01:22:30

Play online chess
Kansaspatzer

Message:
That's because the correct way for black to play is just to resign as soon as possible.