6...Bd7 is a bad move and you failed to take advantage. 7.dxc5!
Black needs to play 6...cxd4 first, and only after 7.cxd4 should Black play 7...Bd7.
Understanding moves in the French defense
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Sep 5, 2024
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#3
So looking at it... and this isn't based on engine analysis so I don't know if it's correct or not, but going with your suggestion that a4 is the best move... I think the b pawn is poison, but you need to move the a pawn so you don't lose the a pawn in case he takes the b pawn > you tempo his queen with the rook > he moves it somewhere. Hence by pushing a4 you're liberating your black bishop in one move instead of 2. And you're also keeping his queen misplaced, when you tempo the queen he gets to reposition it.
if black were to take the b pawn that pawn is going to be poison after Rb1 tempos the queen and you can followup with Rxb7. However, the queen could take Qxa2 and you'd lose a pawn. Same is true after pushing a3, Qxa3 is on the cards. But with a4... your queen will still be guarding a4 from the bishop. Furthermore, if Qa3 > Bxa4 you could take back Qxa4 Qxa4 and then Bb5+ check wins the queen. At this point you control the b file with a very active rook and you seem to have solved your problems / have good initiative.
Perhaps in librerating your bishop you could even remaneuver it to c3? I don't really see where else it should go but that's where I would think about putting it. There's alot of pressure on your d pawn currently. You could actually tempo the queen with the bishop.
I watched an interesting video the other day on Steinitz's theory about complex positions where you have alot of different moves and how you ought to find the best move. It kind of relates to positions like this, it's worth looking at. But basically you should prefer attacking over defending. And so when you have alot of options you should look for the opponents greatest vulnerability and see how to exploit it. In this case the poison pawn opening up that file is exploiting a pretty significant vulnerability. You're also sort of liquidating one of your vulnerabilities, the b pawn and the way your bishop is tied down to defending it -
I wrote a long answer, but the website refreshed and my entire post got deleted.
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So I’ll give you short answer:
I thought your first 7 moves were fine.
I thought your 8th move was bad.
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The move 13.a4 is good move because it stops bishop trade.
ThrillerFan wrote:
6...Bd7 is a bad move and you failed to take advantage. 7.dxc5!
Black needs to play 6...cxd4 first, and only after 7.cxd4 should Black play 7...Bd7.
Got it, I still want to understand the later position though
ibrust wrote:
So looking at it... and this isn't based on engine analysis so I don't know if it's correct or not, but going with your suggestion that a4 is the best move... I think the b pawn is poison, but you need to move the a pawn so you don't lose the a pawn in case he takes the b pawn > you tempo his queen with the rook > he moves it somewhere. Hence by pushing a4 you're liberating your black bishop in one move instead of 2. And you're also keeping his queen misplaced, when you tempo the queen he gets to reposition it.
if black were to take the b pawn that pawn is going to be poison after Rb1 tempos the queen and you can followup with Rxb7. However, the queen could take Qxa2 and you'd lose a pawn. Same is true after pushing a3, Qxa3 is on the cards. But with a4... your queen will still be guarding a4 from the bishop. Furthermore, if Qa3 > Bxa4 you could take back Qxa4 Qxa4 and then Bb5+ check wins the queen. At this point you misplaced blacks king and control the b file with a very active rook and you seem to have good initiative.
Perhaps in librerating your bishop you could even remaneuver it to c3? I don't really see where else it should go but that's where I would think about putting it. There's alot of pressure on your d pawn currently. You could actually tempo the queen with the bishop.
I watched an interesting video the other day on Steinitz's theory about complex positions where you have alot of different moves and how you ought to find the best move. It kind of relates to positions like this, it's worth looking at. But basically you should prefer attacking over defending. And so when you have alot of options you should look for the opponents greatest vulnerability and see how to exploit it. In this case the poison pawn opening up that file is exploiting a pretty significant vulnerability. You're also sort of liquidating one of your vulnerabilities, the b pawn and the way your bishop is tied down to defending it -
Awesome, super appreciate your analysis and thanks for the recommendation!
Much appreciated! Here is the game