Help with Cramped Positions

My Kindle chess app is both instructive and frustrating. This app repeatedly cramps my position, regardless of the opening. Tips/guidelines on how to prevent this are most welcomed.

In the last best variation for Black (me), Fritz still says that I have a slighly cramped position. I couldn't make any progress.

Below is one of my many games against Kindle.

One of the problems with going after the Rook with the Kight and Bishop is that it you now have two minor pieces on the Queenside corner and, while you can take the Rook with your Bishop, your minor pieces are far from the action. I've found myself in the position a lot. The idea of taking out a ROok is a good one but it takes away from the goal of quickly going after your opponent's King. The other problem is that Black can make it difficult for the Knight to get away safely. I try to avoid going after Rooks or other important pieces if it takes me to a far away corner of the board. It seems as if this type of attack always leaves a cramped position made up of attackers and defenders. Also, the computer plays tactically which leads to the same problem. Good game though. Thanks for posting it!

If you really want to avoid cramped positions, better try something else than the French defence : you have a locked-in bishop right from the start 

What about 1...e5 ? A good way to learn active play !

In the game 11...Qh5, losing two tempi looks like a big time waster in an open position...Maybe 11...Qa5, but white is probably already better.

Good point. The c8-bishop is the troublesome or even bad bishop in the French.

I've heard that computers are materialisic. Maybe I should look for exchanges early in the game, giving the computer fewer tactical opportunities while improving the mobility of my pieces.

Basically, make trades when cramped.

I'd say the bigger problem I see in this game is your development is way too slow.  By move 9, you have only moved one minor piece (which was quickly traded)... 3 queen moves and five pawn moves.  Think of the rules of thumb when developing.  Grab space with a pawn, knights before bishops, castle quickly, queen to a safe square, and rooks to open files. You might want to maintain the tension in the center longer... no point in losing tempi with quick pawn trades. The board was pretty open, not really what you would think of as "cramped".

All that said, the light squared bishop for black in the french will be the problem child of the opening.  You might look at the caro kann if you want a similar pawn structure without the trapped bishop... or think about pushing b6 and placing the bishop on a6 where it gets some room.  I like the french because it gives black clear pawn breaks (f6 and c5) and targets (d4), and usually a good c file for your rooks... and because the advanced pawn structure of white means your king can be safe in the center.

You've got lots of chances to "uncramp" here that you just pass over.  You repeatedly take a pass on e5 or dxe4 when the chances for them are there.  And after ...Nc6, Nxc6, capturing back with the queen instead of the pawn just compounds your troubles.  Now you've moved that queen a couple times to no effect, when you could have freed your bishop by removing the b7 pawn.

I would opt for the Caro Kann (a great suggestion), unless you're willing to deal with the ever popular "problem Bishop" in a more proactive way.

 I agree. The Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6) is both active and solid.

I think that what killed you in general was your lack of development. I mean really, only one piece off the back rank by move 13? And that whole rather unnecessary sequence of Qh5, Nxh5, Nf6 (going back where you already were) cost you lord knows how many tempii.

Develop much faster and more efficiently, and you will see tremendous improvement versus the Kindle.

P.S. I also support you looking into the principles of the Caro-Kann instead of the French :D

Thanks to all for the excellent ideas. My development was horrible in that game. I'll try out the Caro-Kann as well.

As a french player, your third move (c6) looks just wrong to me, trading your horrible light squared bishop off in the french is almost always good.

You don't really need to move away from the french to avoid being cramped, if you like variations full of tactics and agressive play then just play those variations of the french, like the winawer for example.

Agreed : 3...Bd7, offering to exchange your bad bishop looks better.