Cambridge Springs Transpositions...

It turns out the drivers on my Windows 8 were out of date and messed up.  As soon as I updated/reinstalled the Chessbase player worked just fine.

I'm liking IM Martin's version of the Cambridge Springs quite a bit though I think I'll sneak into it via the Semi-Slav where White gets little to nothing by a center pawn exchange.

It's 11Bxf6 being played instead of 11Ra-b1 with entirely the same pawn structure. The karpov example is 11...Ne4 being played instead of 11...a5. In neither case can Houdini or anything else prove white is winning. Most middle game books explain about the carlsbad pawn structure in a conceptual way, using examples other, and including from QGD exchange. Most people reserve detailed move by move varation study for sharp variations like lines of Nadjorf/Dragon, were without concrete knowledge will soon reach a lost position. 

I play both all the time, at my level the Slav Exchange wins and loses more than it draws. I don't know of a single white setup that works against all black variations that forces draws.

It's a bit strange using a white rep book, to decide what you are playing as black. As he writes on page 147, white can decide to play the exchange varation with 6 cxd5 pxp 7e3. Note this isn't what I have called the lame early nf3 exchange, because black has played nbd7. It's transposing to positions been discussing with 11Ra-b1, and 11Bxf6, and the undiscussed 11h3, which is theoretically more challenging.Schandroff, in building his white rep, chooses not to recommend it because he has a thing for exchange variations with Ne2.

I'm not sure that using a White repertoire book to understand Black's approaches is all the strange.  The point of the line is that one can go for the Cambridge Springs via the Semi-Slav. Obviously if Black isn't willing to roll with the Slav Exchange then the line is moot.  The Cambridge Springs isn't a fearsome weapon that White shold avoid at all costs.  I just like it and don't want to play agains the QG Exchange.

You are allowing the QG Exchange just not the ne2 version.

I'll have to go back and look at those pages in the book again but the idea is to use the Slav to get to the Cambridge Springs.  I'm not sure how that permits a transposition into the QGD Exchange. Sure it permits the symmetrical Slav Exchange but I'd prefer that for a variety of reasons.

Unless you are keen on the obscure 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Bg5, then transposing back into the QGD with 5...exd5 after avoiding the Ne2 version makes sense. 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 gives you the same choice without simple equality in the QGD line.