Is there any NOT DRAWISH line in the Exchange French

I've started to play the French recently. I dominate with it, however, some players go for the exchange French. This takes all hope of a fun game. Is there any NOT DRAWISH line after that?

I quit playing the French because the Exchange Variation is so Dry & Tasteless.

No excitement at all for Black in that Boring Position.

White side players play it intentionally to steal your fun away.

The Exchange Variation isn’t even considered that good for White.

Yet, White players will play it countless times.

I know man. I love learning strategy and positional play from the french, but the exchange variation makes me auto-destruct myself. Against 2.Nc3 I transpose into French Sicilian, but I don't know what to do against the Exchange.

I know your struggle.

The Exchange Variation is miserable.

I switched to new opening because I couldn’t take it.

I had a crazy good win ratio as Black against the Exchange Variation, but I got no Joy from the wins.

So I quit playing it.

You could try playing the Ne7 line to make things a little fun, but in the end it probably will not work.

You might end up needing new opening.

french exchange is not so bad, (try playing for a win from an exchange slav!), i recommend 4.nc6, usually going for bd6, nge7 bf5 qd7 0-0-0, f6 etc. idk if its just me but i always found blacks attack easier /faster when opposite side castling happens prob because f6 is so useful.

Same , I changed to the scandinavien defense and when they advance the pawn to e5 i switch to the french

3..., Qxd5 maybe? A bit dubious perhaps but at least unbalanced.

The Rule of Thumb - I was told was to do the opposite development of White G Knight.

So if White plays his G Knight to f3

You as Black need to play your G Knight to e7.

If you put it on f6 (Copying White), The position becomes very symmetrical and it can end up being boring.

So to Spicy up the Position, you need to do the opposite of White so that the position isn’t similar, repetitive, and boring.

However, I still found the position similar, repetitive, and boring LOL

The advice I was told did help me play French longer, but yeah in the end I had to change.

I have 48% winrate and 2% draw rate in french exchange but I do agree that it is a very bland opening. I like to go Nf6 and then c5 giving myself an IDP to spice things up a bit

Bg4 after Nf3 seems to lead mostly to queenside castling among masters. Though if white is determined to kill the game he can probably delay Nf3 or play Be2 or Nbd2 to take care of the pin.

Another reason why I prefer the Caro-Kann.

The exchange variation in the Caro-Kann isnt boring.

In the main line 4. Nf3 you can play c5 early against most moves from white. Anish recommends this for spicing things up in his course on the french.... You may end up with an IQP but objectively your eval is fine, about dead equal.

And 4. Bd3 usually transposes with the main line.

If white plays 4. c4 himself it's a monte carlo position, which... I actually don't find that to be boring.

You may not be setting off fireworks but if white is handing black equality it's hard to complain too hard.

I am just the opposite. I switched to the Petroff because it is most similar to the Exchange French, and it actually can transpose - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 (third most popular behind 5.d4 and 5.Nc3) Nf6 6.d4 d5.

The exchange is a joke for Black. If you are not happy with a draw against 2500 players, you are nuts.

Anything below that, they are easy to beat. You play the ultra Symmetrical with 2 rules:

1) Do not touch your h-pawn. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.O-O O-O 7.Bg5 Bg4 8.Nbd2 Nbd7 9.c3 c6 10 Qc2 Qc7 11.h3 Bh5 and you will voluntarily play ...Bg6. DO NOT PLAY ...h6. You need h7 and f7 to play ...Bg6.

2) Trade all heavy pieces as long as it does not allow White to dominate the e-file.

This is all you have to do. You will wind up with one of the following endings:

A) White has 2 Knights, Black Knight and DSB. This results if Bg6 leads to a Bishop Trade and White plays BxN on f6, which should be captured with the pawn, giving Black pawns on g6, f6, and f7 (always recapture on g6 with the h-pawn, never the f-pawn.

B) Both sides have 2 knights. White does not play h3 and does the same thing Black does with the Bishop.

C) White has Knight and Light Squared Bishop, Black has 2 Knights. This comes from Bh5 being answered by Nh4 and Bg6 by Nxg6 or Nf5 Bxf5 Bxf5 g6.

D) White has Knight and Dark-Squared Bishop, Black has 2 Knights. This happens when line C is used with specifically Nf5 played and Black allows the trade on d6 rather than taking with the Bishop.

E) Opposite colored Bishops occur. A blend of A and C occur

Each of these can also occur with a pair of knights removed, leading to LSB vs N, DSB vs N, N vs N, or OCB's.

I think now you get the hint how to win against sub-2500 players. MASTER THE MINOR PIECE ENDGAME! I have faced this Symmetrical exchange line with Black about 100 times. I have lost 4 of them, all of which are time control of G/60 or shorter. I have about 25 to 30 draws. The rest are wins. All 65 to 70 of them! You win say, 68 times and draw 28 times with only 4 losses with Black? You ought to be ULTRA-THRILLED with your results!

MASTER

MINOR-PIECE

ENDINGS!

You are a Very Brave & Patient Man @Thrillerfan.

Playing a Symmetrical Position 10 moves deep would be terrible for me!

I would fall asleep at move 7 due to boredom.

The Symmetrical French Exchange is so lifeless & dull. What a Snooze Fest.

The French Exchange is the very definition of the word LAME.

I have 80% win rate with the Black pieces against the French Exchange and I still refuse to play it.

Even if I had 100% win rate in the French Exchange, I still wouldn’t play it because it’s not about the points.

It’s not about winning or losing!

It’s about satisfaction!

I have to win with Style!

I can’t be bothered winning a sad lame looking position. I have removed such lines from my repertoire.

Endgames are not boredom. They are where you can shine. Prove you can outcalculate your opponents without some stupid cheap-shot tactic. Calculation is the true skill in chess!

How do you guys think I could play the Caro Kann guys? I'm worried about two knights and the main line because of the development issues. Does anybody have a tip to a tactical or a moderately strategic position without being worse?

You could play the Caro Kann if you want too.

It’s a decent opening as well.

It just depends on you really.

French & Caro are in the top 4 best opening vs. 1.e4

Benko

I tried to play the Benko against 1.e4, and failed. I must have done something wrong.