I stopped trying to force Black into my BDG ideas since I encountered the Gibbins-Wiedehagen Gambit.
GWG blogpost 1
GWG blogpost 2
GWG group
I was a bit sceptical at first, but I'm becoming a huge fan of the opening. It gives some variation from BDG as White, and it's probably an opening your opponent has never seen before. Almost no theory to be found either.
Ultraman81 Great games! I am admin in Grob/Borg group and I never saw something like this :) I play g4 (g5 as black) a lot and actually I saw such pawn structures, but with totally different purposes :) Here with white pieces you may get good "classical" centre... And I use this setup with black to ruin good "classical" centre of white :) (1.e4-g5, 2.d4-d5) Anyway - May I use this games in Grob group?
I am already there :)
This was a fun little game that I got into yesterday that went right down the Nimzo Indian trap I mentioned. This is one nice thing about the Veresov - if your opponent tries to play a Nimzo against it there's a fun little tactical burn you can dish out.
There is also a Pirc trap with the Veresov (if black tries to KID, it's actually a Pirc then . . . which has the added benefit of forcing your KID player to use an unfamilar opening).
I been thinking about the samething, what to do against Nf6. Have you tried to get into a Barry or Tarzan attack?
So, I used to have a negative view of the Paleface Attack but I've come around to it, and I've been using it in about 2/3rds of my games against Nf6 recently (with the other third being either a Veresov or something else).
My main concerns were Benoni-type positions and French-type positions where the pawn on e4 is not exchanged. For the most part, I find these positions totally fine for White. You may have to learn a bit of mainline Benoni theory but it feels like White's pretty okay with the pawn on f3 in those lines. You get good attacking chances and the positions are dynamic and fun.
If Black plays 1...d5, then BDG it is. If they play 1...Nf6 then I'm happy to go into the Veresov Attack. It's an aggressive opening that resembles 1.e4 play but severely limits the variations you have to know (for example, completely side-steps the Sicilian).
One thing I have noticed is that playing 2. Nc3 (the Veresov) confusing Black. Instead of playing 2...e5 (going into the Veresov proper), they just stick with their King's Indian Defense plan. I have to say, I love this because I then get to play the Austrian Attack line of the Pirc defense. It's very aggressive and just destroys Black's camp nearly every time.
By way of example, here is a recent game where I got to play it. The move order is slightly different (1...g6 instead of 1...Nf6) but the position ends up being the same.
We can't deny that at least half the d4 games we end up playing with White will end up being indian games of some sort. So I'd like to brainstorm what the best repertoire would be for Blackmar-Diemer players who encounter an Nf6 player.
I think a bad habit people often get into is trying to force these games back into BDG territory with the Paleface attack or the Huebsch Gambit, both of which I consider to be a waste of the White pieces if Black knows the correct response.
In my eternal attempts to stay offbeat I've dabbled with the Trompowsky but ultimately I've stuck with the more aggressive Richter-Veresov to meet King's Indian players. You have to be prepared to give up that Bishop in either line, Ruy Lopez exchange style, depending on what Black does. The Tromp's reputation is solid if a bit unambitious, popular among world GMs and played at all levels. The Veresov has a troublesome W/L rate in most databases that scared me away initially but then you have super-GMs like Aronian using it without any issues. That and it has a killer trap against Nimzo Indian players.
I'm up for other ideas though. Anyone play the main lines? Any good gambit paths down the main line? Anyone try b3 or g3 against the Indian game? I'd like to know what other ideas are out there. And if there are a few other Veresov players, what particular lines they play. And of course, if someone disagrees about the Huebsch, by all means prove me wrong.