pfren wrote:The Benko is definitely not a sharp opening- rather the opposite. Active-yes, but the sharp variations in it are really few.
All the White piece configurations confuse me. Theory would just make things worse. :/
Strong tactical response to d4?
Sort:
The only Dutch worth a try is the Leningrad. If it's OK for Naka and Kamsky, then it should be great for most...
I've always liked to play the Queen's Gambit accepted against 1. d4. A lot of d4 players (at my level at least) don't deal with the QGA very often and often don't know how to hold the pawn, especially if you play something unorthodox and ugly like 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 Be6!? to really try to hold the pawn. Games often end with black's extra pawn pushing forward with unstoppable promotion threats. If white does find (or even know) the best responses, black usually has at least a more open and active game than most 'closed' (1.d4) openings, and without that pesky isolated queen pawn.