On the White side of a French Exchange

Maybe, just maybe...one day I will be able to settle down in 1. e4 land with positional openings that fit my bill.  Not sure I really want to play the White Side of the Ruy Lopez, although they say it is a wonderful setup for White.

I, personally, like positional openings, with potential for some action.  Not a sleeper opening, but nothing that requires razor sharp precision.  And my first opening (before I ever studied 1.f4) was 1. e4.  It fits the bill for quick development.

The problem is, so many players are booked against the main lines, what should a poor boy like me do?  I am on the hunt for positional openings that might offer me some sting....maybe a slow Italian setup against 1...e5/2...Nc6, who knows? 

I am sure there are tons of players out there like me, still trying to find their little niche - or maybe they are just adventuring for a moment, before they head back to their normal opening.

Today, I essayed 1. e4 in live chess, to face the French Defense.  This is an opening I would describe as a pain opening from the White side.  A pain (for me!) - no clear attacking plans, I hate Nf3 honestly (maybe I need to study some more!).  Today, I chose the Exchange variation, and scored a very quick win!  

I want to post this win, not because I won, but I want to discuss the ideas - I purposefully avoided an isolated d-pawn at one point, for instance.  Here goes - any ideas, or anything...please post.

Seems your oppenent wasnt very strong, but against the french i suggest you play the advanced, you get space and black isnt feeling very good.

Also about positional games, maybe go for d4, veresov, or Van gets oppening :D

In my opinion, advance french (1.e4-e6 2.d4-d5 3.e5) is PRECISELY what black wants and has been preparing all his nasty lines against.

Exchange French is just OK for both sides although not too ambitious at first for white. BUT this isn't the kind of game black wants to play so he'll probably get frustrated or bored, which can only be good for white.

As for a precise, I really like this one:

1.e4-e6 2.d4-d5 3.e*d5-e*d5 4.c4!?-c6 5.Bd3-d*c4 6.B*c4-Nf6 7.Ne2!?

The knight is not going to f3, as you'll notice. The idea is to avoid the nasty pin Bg4: now white can play f3 pushing the bishop back, and then Ng3 or Nf4 to pursue it. You should try this setup, it's pretty funny: Knight on e3, Bishop on d3 (or c4 depends on what black plays), isolated pawn on d4

I often played the Advance Variation for the same reason, yet I felt as if Black had too much counterplay with moves like ...c5, ...Qb6, ...f6, etc. However, that is just my opinion. Despite my amateur feelings, it is still considered one of the most formidable weapons against the French.

BirdBrain, perhaps hyper-agression in your game with 4. c4 is in order? I tend to play more solidly and distance myself from such moves, but it still appears reasonable.

To add onto Phoenix's last statement, maybe you could play the Bird's Opening. Not only is the word in you username, but it does fit your request of "Both lively and positonal, excting but not needing razor sharp prescision."

Lokaz, Bird's Opening is the opening I play the most.  I know more about 1. f4 than any other opening.  Yet, there are some things you don't get in 1. f4, such as a larger chunk of central control.  Not that this is bad, but sometimes it is nice to get e4 in quickly, you know?

Phoenix, I notice you must be a lot like me - your main opening is 1. f4, but you also venture 1. e4 as well, with better results.  Even more shocking, you play the Halloween Gambit, which I really like.  I guess you share similar feelings at times?  

In the end, after I venture around, I normally come back to 1. f4 with a fresh approach.  But it would be nice one day to really lock down a 1. e4 repertoire I really like.  Honestly, my heart isn't into 1. d4 like that.  I think I would like 1. c4 better.  But I like playing on the kingside, so 1. f4 and 1. e4.  Not 1. Nf3, don't like it (at least right now).

BirdBrain, i think we are, for evan more fun we both play french with Nc6.., but I don't know if thats your main weapon, atleast mine is the Dragadorf. And about the similarities, you liked positional positions more.. i like double-edged more, atleast from the black side ^^

Fezzi, in your experience, would Nf3-c3-Bd3 approaches be a good idea for White to keep positional trumps, while maintaining chances of playing for a win?

So, if you were playing the White side, would you play the early c4 lines, or something else?

Very interesting - I found a line that Mieses used to play, 4. Be3, that has a high win percentage without a lot of theory.  It is a strange looking move, but solid.  

BirdBrain, I think that it's important to take Fezzik's comment into consideration. You may not like overly sharp lines, but at the same time, playing quiet chess and hoping that your opponent blunders doesn't always work out.

In the game you posted originally, I feel that ...Be6 is a very strange move, since the d-pawn isn't under any serious pressure (and if it were, ...Nf6 and ...c6 are more natural). But your comment about the Isolated Queen's Pawn struck me - you called it a "structural deficiency" or something similar. If you like positional play, you have to be open-minded about ALL of the positional aspects of chess. Few things in chess are one-sided - except gross blunders. An isolated queen's pawn is what you might call a double-edged positional consideration. It's not tactically messy, but it takes some technique to use it well (and it takes practice). By avoiding all isolated queen's pawn positions, you're limiting yourself positionally-speaking. By not being willing to accept positional weaknesses, you will have few positional advantages (unless your opponent plays poorly).

I'm not saying that Nxd4 was bad in that game, but to be honest, I think that cxd4 is better. It's not even the traditional isolated d-pawn structure that one normally deals with: White pawn at d4, Black pawn at e6. Instead, both sides have isolated d-pawns and no c or e pawns. Both sides should be trying to take advantage of the outposts that the d-pawns give them, and as White, you should realize that the extra half-tempo you get from the start of the game is crucial in such situations.

By the way, I'm not sold on that Exchange line with Be3. The e3 bishop looks much better on g5, pinning the knight. I suspect that the statistics don't tell the whole story, but go ahead and try it out and you be the judge. :)

Yeah, I found Be3 to be peculiar, that is why I posted it.  I know how the c4 lines work, but the Bg5?  Can you give me an example of a French Exchange with Bg5 in the opening?  

To tell you the truth, I don't play the French Exchange, so I looked it up in an opening database. It seems that Bg5 isn't all too popular. I guess it's not exactly a line you can pull out every time. I could be wrong, but if I were to play the French Exchange in such a manner, the best time to play Bg5 would probably be after Black has committed his king's bishop to d6 or b4 and has developed the king's knight to f6. It's definitely pointless if Black has already played ...Be7, but I sort of like the line that goes 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 c6 6.Bg5, which is by no means a mainline, but for some reason Black scores well in this line, and I'm not sure why.

A quick glance at French Exchange games seems to show that White normally doesn't commit the c1 bishop too early in the game, preferring to develop the king's knight and king's bishop (usually to d3). To me though, the c1 bishop's ideal square is g5 or f4.

This is what I mean.  I did ask for Bg5 lines, and they are not obvious to find.  I do know about the early c4 lines, and I could learn that too.  

Estragon, maybe you can help me for a second then.  I appreciate your descriptive analysis of the positions - I like that so much better than crude analysis, it registers easier for me.  I agree with your statement that Be3 does look peculiar - I found it intriguing that it was an experiment of Mieses, a well-known attacker of his day, and at the time, it had good results.  

Nevertheless, if I am going to essay the French Exchange for White and see if it is something I like, Fezzik, recommends two approaches, which I need to try for myself and see if I really like them.

One is the early c4 approach:

He also mentioned a Bg5 approach, and he said that they didn't necessarily have to be intertwined.  I had trouble finding this Bg5 line.  Maybe you can help me?  I do understand that you play the Winawer - I am hopefully going to be adapting the French as my main defense against 1. e4 - working on the ...Nc6 French against the Advance - I really like it.  

If you can help me, I would greatly appreciate it!