Anti-French defence; Reti gambit

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Woohoo, that's my line, baby. Absolutely excellent. In my experience black plays the moves 3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Be7 between 50 and 75% of the time. I have very good results with the gambit.

this is a strong french answer. I don't see any reti games played against strass however... why is it that such a strong gambit isn't sampled against such a strong french player? seems like his draws come mostly to the affect of open games, and rarely slow positional play.... Seems like everyone ends up in the same closed kingside attack against him, over and over. Maybe the reti needs a try?

just a thought.

Originally posted by Adorea
this is a strong french answer. I don't see any reti games played against strass however... why is it that such a strong gambit isn't sampled against such a strong french player? seems like his draws come mostly to the affect of open games, and rarely slow positional play.... Seems like everyone ends up in the same closed kingside attack against him, over and over. Maybe the reti needs a try?

just a thought.

Because very few people know about it, much less know the lines.

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Because very few people know about it, much less know the lines.

do you have a DB of reti games for consumption? or any links as to where to find some applicable theory??

Originally posted by Adorea
do you have a DB of reti games for consumption? or any links as to where to find some applicable theory??

Heh, no, I just go by what I know. I've done some personal work with it though, but not in a db form that is convenient or anything.

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Heh, no, I just go by what I know. I've done some personal work with it though, but not in a db form that is convenient or anything.

alright, well i'm going to start collecting and building one. if you have anything to share, i'll share what i make/find/fabricate as well. buddy add 😛

Originally posted by Adorea
How does 1. c4 get answered at your club squelch? I still don't see why one should ever run into the french 🙂

I played Black against an ECF 152 from Hastings (a very strong club) in the English *shivers*
It started
1.c4...g6 2.g3...Nf6 3.Bg2...c6 4.b3...Bg7 5.Bb2...0-0

I resigned in a hopeless position on 25.
I really can't stand playing against openings like that & I'm licking my wounds tonight anyway after losing in 49 to an ECF 116 in the mid Sussex League.🙁

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Yes, I've heard only good things about the book as well - and Johannson is a great author based on what I've heard. Good luck with the Reti. 🙂

I should get the book in a few days - if you've any questions about the lines covered, give me a shout.

It's an interesting idea. Looks like the same basic line could be used against the Caro Kann as well.

Originally posted by no1marauder
It's an interesting idea. Looks like the same basic line could be used against the Caro Kann as well.

if you let your silicon friends test it at all can i get you to save the games with hopes of collecting them? against the caro-kann or the french plz?

thx
-Adorea

Originally posted by no1marauder
It's an interesting idea. Looks like the same basic line could be used against the Caro Kann as well.

well i think it's not good for the caro kann because the light squared bishop can cause too many problems. I've experimented with a few lines in it and also the computer doesnt seem to like it much. Also YouTube this is johanson lecturing about the reti gambit on youtube. HOpe that helps!
P.S. if anybody has read his book i'm curious to know what you thought of it. Thanks

Originally posted by no1marauder
It's an interesting idea. Looks like the same basic line could be used against the Caro Kann as well.

I have indeed played it (against the Caro that is) OTB, indeed against a GM, who made absolutely no attempt to refute it. He just ground me down in a long equal endgame. British players may be able to guess who the GM in question was!

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
I'm going to try this rare system the next time I face the French over-the-board.
Any thoughts? Any devotees?

1.e4...e6 2.b3...d5 3.Bb2

[fen]rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/4p3/3p4/4P3/1P6/PBPP1PPP/RN1QKBNR w KQkq - 0 1[/fen]

I may give it a try. I have on a number of occasions tried the original Tchigorin variation (1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 c5 3.b3!?), which is hardly ever played these days. It sometimes causes French players to think for themselves rather earlier than they are accustomed to!

Actually, I seem to have a bit of a weakness for the queenside fianchetto as white in KP openings. Lines I've tried (apart from the Tchigorin above) include 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.b3!?, 1.e4 c5 2.b3!? Nc6 3.Bb2 e5 4.f4!?, 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Qf3!? e6 7.b3!?, 1.e4 c6 2.b3!? d5 3.Bb2, and finally (though I may have missed one or two) 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 h6 5.b3!? Do I have a problem? (lol)

Originally posted by Northern Lad
I have indeed played it (against the Caro that is) OTB, indeed against a GM, who made absolutely no attempt to refute it. He just ground me down in a long equal endgame. British players may be able to guess who the GM in question was!

Was it Speelman?

He plays the Caro-Kann

ChessLive has more than 1000 games after 1. e4 e6 2. b3 d5 3. Bb2, and a casual glance seems to reveal that 3. ... dxe5 scores well for white.

One of the more recent (although obviously far from perfect) games, in which black indeed responded 3. ... Nf6, caught my eye:

[Event "Parsvnath Commonwealth-ch"]
[Site "New Delhi"]
[Date "2007.12.03"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Tiwari,Arjun"]
[Black "Sengupta,Deep"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "C00"]

1.e4 e6 2.b3 d5 3.Bb2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 Be7 6.Nf3 c5 7.g3 Nc6 8.Bg2 b5
9.0-0 Bb7 10.d3 Nb6 11.c3 Qd7 12.Nbd2 0-0 13.Qe2 a5 14.h4 a4 15.Kh2 Ra7 16.Ng5 h6
17.Nh3 f5 18.Rg1 Rf7 19.Bf3 a3 20.Bc1 b4 21.cxb4 Nd4 22.Qf2 Qb5 23.Bh5 Qxd3 24.bxc5 Bxc5
25.b4 Bxb4 26.Nb3 Nxb3 27.Qxb6 d4 28.Bxf7+ Kxf7 29.Qxa7 Qe2+ 30.Nf2 Qxf2+ 31.Kh3 Nc5 32.Bxa3 g5
33.hxg5 hxg5 34.fxg5 Qf3 35.Qxb7+ Qxb7 36.Rab1 Bxa3 37.Rxb7+ Nxb7 38.Rd1 Bc5 39.Rb1 Na5 40.Kg2 Ba3
41.Rd1 Nc6 42.Kf1 Bb2 43.a4 Bc3 44.Ke2 Nxe5 45.a5 d3+ 46.Ke3 Bxa5 47.Kd4 Bc7 48.Rc1 Bd6
49.Rd1 Kg6 0-1

Position After 13. ... a5

Originally posted by Northern Lad
I have indeed played it (against the Caro that is) OTB, indeed against a GM, who made absolutely no attempt to refute it. He just ground me down in a long equal endgame. British players may be able to guess who the GM in question was!

I just looked at the game in question & you had a very unusual pawn structure throughout it.