Mexican Defense: Two Knights Tango

Seems to transpose nicely:

It's favorable for white cuz 2...Nc6!? is a quite dubious move. 

Could u enlighten us and teach us why 2...Nc6 dubious?

"!?" means interesting, for dubious it is "?!".

Personnally i like this defence, the only variation I don't like to face is when white plays with g3, which can transpose into a catalan (if black plays with d5, with d6 we could go into a Bogo) where positions can become quite messy.

Richard Palliser wrote a book on it and made a very good work, I advice you his book for more informations on this interesting opening, sometimes played by top players!

A positive review :

http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Tango-A-Dynamic-Answer-to-1-d4-p3840.htm

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qc2 d6 6. Bd2 O-O 7. a3 Bxc3 8. Bxc3
Would be the line I would follow as white.
Blocking the c-pawn as black in queen's pawn openings does not sit well with me personally but it is not quite a dubious idea.

LoL How could I enlighten such a brilliant master ?!?  2...e6 and 2...g6 are definitely better than 2...Nc6. This Mexican defense is not the best choice but it's indeed playable. 

Well, U are right, there was no deep meaning in my tautological sentence.  However, it's clear  (at least, to me) that 2...Nc6 is suboptimal and serves only as a little surprise. 

Not only, there is also a long historical tradition (and about 250,000 master games) clearly favoring 2...e6 and 2...g6. 

Skye: Do U really think that in this position

2...Nc6 is as good as 2...e6 and 2...g6 ?!? or U write your objections just to contradict me ?!? 

Skye: LoL If U wanna continue with 3...e6 what was the point to play 2...Nc6 limiting your options ?!? It's not me who suggested this Mexican defense so why should I defend it or prove something about it ?!? I just see it as playable but not as good as Bogo/Nimzo-Indian and KID. 

Its playable and good to keep in your repertoire; especially if you play in chess club; Your opponent always ask, "What does he played? " So they can prepare a line on your favorite defense, well, you surprise him with The Two Knights Tangle or Mexican Defense.

It's like telling why playing Paulsen sicilian instead of directly the french with e6!

If white chooses to transpose into a Nimzo Indian : we go back into the Zurich variation (defined with Nc6), which is quite a reliable line. And we could add that black avoided many variations white can play against the Nimzo.

Let's read what Palliser wrote introducing this line (after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.Nc3) :

"This is White's most popular reply to the Tango; he threatens 5 e4 and after 4...Bb4 the game has transposed to a Nimzo-Indian. No ordinary Nimzo though; after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3, the move 4...Nc6 is a rare response compared to the theoretical and fairly fashionable 4...b6 5 Bg5 and 4...c5 5 g3. Thus White may not have reached a position he's fully familiar with, unless he's a 4 Qc2 Nimzo player. Indeed White's most popular continuation is 5 Qc2, transposing to a 4 Qc2 Nimzo, and we will examine the resulting Zürich Variation in Chapters 6-7.

Non-Qc2 Nimzo players may try a variety of systems here. However, the inclusion of Nf3 and ...Nc6 makes a significant difference should White opt, for example, for a fianchetto set-up, and the c6-knight also proves its worth in the Bg5 lines."

About Qc2 now :

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 Nc6 3 Nf3 e6 4 Nc3 Bb4 5 Qc2

"5 Qc2 prevents the doubling of the pawns and transposes to the Zürich variation of the Nimzo-Indian (4 Qc2 Nc6). This was initially named after its inventor, Sir Stuart Milner-Barry, but then appears to have become popular after the Zürich tournament of 1934 even though, intriguingly, the variation didn't feature in any games from the main tournament there. The Zürich variation was popular in the 1930s, when it was used most notably by Alekhine and Nimzowitsch, but by the 1960s it had fallen out of favour as other continuations became fashionable. To this day 4...0-0, 4...d5 and 4...c5 remain more popular against the 4 Qc2 Nimzo and so, whether it arises from a Nimzo or from a Tango, the Zürich has a fair amount of surprise value and Black may well know it better than White.

Partly due to its use by Morozevich in the mid 1990s, and of course also by Orlov, the Zürich has recently been used by a number of grandmasters, both within the Tango and from a Nimzo move order. Black aims to set up his favoured dark-squared centre, and will often then look to attack on the kingside or to advance in the centre. Once again Black's position is also fairly solid, and there is no easy way for White to exploit his bishop pair.

After 5...d6 we will consider two, at least by Tango standards, fairly theoretical options:

1) White's recapturing on c3 with the bishop after 6 Bd2 0-0 7 a3 Bxc3 8 Bxc3 (or 6 Bg5 h6 7 Bd2 0-0 8 a3 Bxc3 9 Bxc3).

2) Recapturing with the queen with 6 a3 Bxc3+ 7 Qxc3 – see Chapter 7."

IM poucin: Thanks for this long and interesting explanation.  So, in most of cases, it transposes into the Nimzo-Indian with Nc6. All right. However, I'd possibly prefer to play 4. a3 instead of 4. Nc3:

Probably the most interesting and original in this Mexican defense would be the following Advance variation:

The defense is perfectly playable. When white plays d5 (either the immeidate 3.d5, or the more common 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5), these independent lines are actually quite fun for black.

The problem is that you are not guaranteed these kinds of positions. As was mentioned, after 3. Nf3, the objectively best option is to transpose into some kind of Nimzo, but there are alternatives. One author (can't remember which) suggests a setup with e6, d6, and g6, which is solid enough but a little passive for my tastes. I have also experimented with the idea of playing 3...e5 anyway, trying for more Budapest Gambit sort of positions. I've had mixed success but I wouldn't recommend it. 

Not to mention, the Tango is not really an option if white does not follow up with 2. c4, so you'll need to have something prepared for those cases as well. I really want it to work and be consistent with my Nc3 repertoire, but it is just too much theory for too little payoff, IMO. 

I've got Palliser's book Tango! at home, and I seem to recall the main idea here being ...d6 followed by ...e5. 

I'll double check when I get home but I think this is the line given. White has the option of swapping queens and going for an immediate endgame. Or after d5 and ...Ne7, the position is comparable to a reversed Van Geet Attack, except black is behind in tempo and the bishop is locked behind the pawn chain. Seems... unexciting. Definitely not what I am aiming for when I play an offbeat opening.

Palliser indeed gives d6-g6 stuff which can be considered the main line for black to fight against this a3.

Bologan played many games with very good results.

Some games (the one given by Palliser to introduce d6-g6 set up) :

OMG Get ideas from databases ?!?  Are U serious ?!?  Unheard of for Skye!