Ahoy hoy
It really depends.....I do so like Alekhine's Gambit. But as the ratings cap increases upwards, it can prove difficult to show any advantage out of the opening. I have also have a weakness for the Müller-Zhuravlev Gambit but if Black knows what (s)he is doing, they are many drawing options.
If my opponent is really much stronger than me and if I can get it, I do so like the 7. Qg4 and 10.Kd1
That is all.
Excellent.
GG.
My favorite against the Winawer is the Classical (7. Qg4)/Poisoned Pawn Variation.
My favorite against the Mainline French is the Alekhine-Chatard Albin Chatard Gambit.
My favorite against the MacCutcheon is the Advance, Chigorin, Grigoriev Variation.
My favorite against the Burn is simply the Main Line.
And that's my French repertoire.
Decades ago I opened with e4 and played poisoned pawn against the winawer, later I switched to the advance and the Tarrasch ( but not because of fear of the winawer).
I didn't have a consistent opening line vs the French and looking honestly at my results, they were inconsistent as well. I guess these days if I were playing 1.e4, I'd go for the Tarrasch against the French, without worrying if it gives a theoretical advantage.
@ThrillerFan you play the French? What do you think is the simplest more clear cut line for kids to play with White?
The Tarrasch is probably too complex positionally.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Perhaps the exchange is the best for this job?
2. d3
Winawer THAT.
I'll "Win a war" against that! 2...d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 c5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 b5 9.e5 Nd7 10.Nf1 a5 11.h4 b4 12.N1h2 Ba6 and White has nothing after 13.Ng5 Qe8, 13.Ng4 Nd4, or 13.Bf4 a4
@ThrillerFan you play the French? What do you think is the simplest more clear cut line for kids to play with White?
The Tarrasch is probably too complex positionally.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Perhaps the exchange is the best for this job?
Being a kid vs being an adult doesn't matter. If you cannot sit in your seat and study seriously, and have to squirm around all the time, and don't put in the hard work, then you are not ready to study chess. Just go push wood!
Also, the question you ask is WHY you do not study openings until you have thoroughly studied strategy and endgames. You don't just eliminate lines because you don't understand color complexes. You study color complexes instead of openings.
I will tell you what I tell everyone else. 3.Nc3 is theoretically best, and 3.e5 is a close second.
The exchange is a complete joke. The Tarrasch is no better if Black plays and understands the ins and outs of 3...c5!
@ThrillerFan you play the French? What do you think is the simplest more clear cut line for kids to play with White?
The Tarrasch is probably too complex positionally.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Perhaps the exchange is the best for this job?
Being a kid vs being an adult doesn't matter. If you cannot sit in your seat and study seriously, and have to squirm around all the time, and don't put in the hard work, then you are not ready to study chess. Just go push wood!
Also, the question you ask is WHY you do not study openings until you have thoroughly studied strategy and endgames. You don't just eliminate lines because you don't understand color complexes. You study color complexes instead of openings.
I will tell you what I tell everyone else. 3.Nc3 is theoretically best, and 3.e5 is a close second.
The exchange is a complete joke. The Tarrasch is no better if Black plays and understands the ins and outs of 3...c5!
Study "seriously" and 7 years old kind of don't go together, also it's a given endgames at that age are not good. Color complexes at that age is really.. nvm, actually, from your response it's clear that you don't understand the context at all, kids are not adults with low level of knowledge, even their brains don't work the same way as they haven't gone though all developmental stages, so nvm.
@ThrillerFan you play the French? What do you think is the simplest more clear cut line for kids to play with White?
The Tarrasch is probably too complex positionally.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Perhaps the exchange is the best for this job?
Being a kid vs being an adult doesn't matter. If you cannot sit in your seat and study seriously, and have to squirm around all the time, and don't put in the hard work, then you are not ready to study chess. Just go push wood!
Also, the question you ask is WHY you do not study openings until you have thoroughly studied strategy and endgames. You don't just eliminate lines because you don't understand color complexes. You study color complexes instead of openings.
I will tell you what I tell everyone else. 3.Nc3 is theoretically best, and 3.e5 is a close second.
The exchange is a complete joke. The Tarrasch is no better if Black plays and understands the ins and outs of 3...c5!
Study "seriously" and 7 years old kind of don't go together, also it's a given endgames at that age are not good. Color complexes at that age is really.. nvm, actually, from your response it's clear that you don't understand the context at all, kids are not adults with low level of knowledge, even their brains don't work the same way as they haven't gone though all developmental stages, so nvm.
I have seen younger than 7 study seriously and actually understand the items you challenge. Just because you or someone you know is an immature 7 year old does not mean all 7 year Olds are the same.
@ThrillerFan you play the French? What do you think is the simplest more clear cut line for kids to play with White?
The Tarrasch is probably too complex positionally.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Perhaps the exchange is the best for this job?
Being a kid vs being an adult doesn't matter. If you cannot sit in your seat and study seriously, and have to squirm around all the time, and don't put in the hard work, then you are not ready to study chess. Just go push wood!
Also, the question you ask is WHY you do not study openings until you have thoroughly studied strategy and endgames. You don't just eliminate lines because you don't understand color complexes. You study color complexes instead of openings.
I will tell you what I tell everyone else. 3.Nc3 is theoretically best, and 3.e5 is a close second.
The exchange is a complete joke. The Tarrasch is no better if Black plays and understands the ins and outs of 3...c5!
Study "seriously" and 7 years old kind of don't go together, also it's a given endgames at that age are not good. Color complexes at that age is really.. nvm, actually, from your response it's clear that you don't understand the context at all, kids are not adults with low level of knowledge, even their brains don't work the same way as they haven't gone though all developmental stages, so nvm.
I have seen younger than 7 study seriously and actually understand the items you challenge. Just because you or someone you know is an immature 7 year old does not mean all 7 year Olds are the same.
Nvm, it's clear you don't understand the context and you're making projections.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Depends on the age of the "kids". For most of us? Yeah probably. But I've always leaned towards positional and strategical play over tactical shots. It's not that it's complicated, but rather seems boring.
In any case I was lazy to begin with so that didn't stop me.
From what I've seen, though, most people around my age and lower do tend to lean towards more straightforward forms of confrontation.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Depends on the age of the "kids". For most of us? Yeah probably. But I've always leaned towards positional and strategical play over tactical shots. It's not that it's complicated, but rather seems boring.
In any case I was lazy to begin with so that didn't stop me.
From what I've seen, though, most people around my age and lower do tend to lean towards more straightforward forms of confrontation.
Early elementary school, when kids still develop reading & writing skills, also it's still a low attention span age. Positional play is basic, rooks like open files, they belong behind passed pawns, a strong centre is good etc. It's too early for Nimzowitsch-Salwe or IQPs, though some basic knowledge around pawn structure can be built.
Moving through developmental stages though happens fast at that age, so in a couple years this could be different.
During the Candidates matches leading up to the Botvinnik vs Bronstein World Championship match (back in the 1950s), Bronstein played an interesting line that still doesn't see much GM action.
@ThrillerFan you play the French? What do you think is the simplest more clear cut line for kids to play with White?
The Tarrasch is probably too complex positionally.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Perhaps the exchange is the best for this job?
In otb leage in clubs i would show kids advance or exchange and ask the invidual kid what he would prefer. Exchange or advance is enough on the level where you mostly play against kids or beginner adults
Thanks, the exchange is what I was thinking, how do they do with the concepts of the advance? Understanding the breaks in the pawn chain probably is fine, where I'd expect things to be harder is overprotection and colour complexes. To be more specific, what I've seen being difficult is not a kid understanding what is overprotection but then misusing it somewhere else, in a completely different context, eg they go and make a passive move in a completely different position, which they wouldn't make before, for "overprotection". Then one tries to bring the relevant factors in the discussion, so that they can distinguish context. Eg discuss about types of centre, when the initiative matters more than other factors etc, but at that point, my impression is that it starts to sound too abstract to them, they get bored, prefer to hear about a trick instead etc.
I show them the Millner Barry Gambit concrete because they get that most when they play it
It gets most of the complex stuff out of the window and nobody under 1200 DWZ which is the upper limit of what they may face in the lowest leage., play the refutation And when they even get higher rated oponents than they lose not because of the oponing choice.
And with the millner Barry the learn how to use open center lines and leads in development and see why the king in the center is often weak.
But only onlx ig the kid wanted to learn the advanced french. If the want to do the exchange or are undecided then sticking to the exhchange is the best
And you can always switch later on if the have a higher level or they want to train for an open where the first oponents are more than 800 points higher( ok they may lose even when they change the opening)
I hadn't considered the Milner-Barry, at that level though it makes a lot of sense, if anything at a later point/different age it can be replaced with something sounder but now it's more important that they stay engaged and the progression path is smooth.
Thanks for this, I like your suggestion, I'll show it and see how it goes.
@ThrillerFan you play the French? What do you think is the simplest more clear cut line for kids to play with White?
The Tarrasch is probably too complex positionally.
The advance is likely too complex to play as well, overprotection, color weaknesses don't mean much to kids, these words sound like metaphysical mumbo jumbo in their ears.
3.Nc3 is probably better than the above for these ages, not due to theoretical status, but because it's more concrete ( it's easy to explain e.g. White plays Qg4 because the pawn on g7 is a target )
Perhaps the exchange is the best for this job?
I would recommend the King's Indian Attack to kids. (i.e. 1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. g3 c5 5. Bg2 followed by Nf3 and castling kingside) This line is good if you like to attack. Objectively Black is fine, but White's attack is fairly intuitive and often you can sacrifice material and go for checkmate. It's an old favourite of Bobby Fischer's and still sees some play today (though mainly in faster time controls).
So this thread is to find out what is everyone's favorite line to play on the White side of the French Winawer?
For me it would be the 7.h4 line.
(See how long this thread goes before it gets locked based on the title! LOL!)