Hanging the French

Originally posted by exigentsky
Yes, but it scores much better when Black knows NO theory. 😉

Seriously, you can't go wrong with the Poisoned Pawn - it's fun as hell and it's sound.

Originally posted by exigentsky
Yes, but it scores much better when Black knows NO theory. 😉

any opening scores much better when the opponent knows no theory

True, but for some, you can do decently without theory. This is not the case for the Bg5 variation.

Originally posted by zebano
A line I have struggled with recently is
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5. Bd2 Ne7 6. Nb5 when ... Bxd2+, Qxd2, 0-0, Nd6 seems excellent for white.

Not sure why you are having trouble with that line, The immediate Nd6 is bad for white.

Originally posted by Zander 88
Not sure why you are having trouble with that line, The immediate Nd6 is bad for white.

Yeah, a simple cxd4 and f6 should give you a good position.

I'm still having a bit of trouble with 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 ? I've considered Be7, but there are some big problems in the h4 variation where it seems even a draw would not be easy. dxe4 is all the rage at the GM level, but if you want to play that, why not just play it immediately on Nc3? I don't really see the point of Nf6 in that case, except maybe so you can learn more systems for other moves!? Maybe someone can enlighten me here. I also, don't think dxe4 offers that much imbalance and it is thus drawish, but always with a White edge. The last plausible try is Bb4, the McCutheon, a very aggressive line. At first, I thought that if someone played that, they SHOULD HAVE JUST PLAYED THE DAMN WINNAWER, but it seems that the positions are very different and maybe even better than the Winnawer. However, this move is not that popular and I'm not sure why. I think it may even be the best move. What do you think?

h4 is easy to deal with. It's been awhile since I've played against it, but you got a wealth of different moves to choose from. You can accept or decline with a good game.

Playable, but a good game?

Black to move (f5 or f6)

After f6, and Qxe6, Black trades a minor piece + rook + pawn(s)? and keeps the queen. I think this favors White because the activity of the extra minor pieces is difficult to hand.

This leaves f5 as the best move. After that, 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Qg4 Qb4 10. 0-0-0 c5 and again, I think White has a noticeable advantage.

White to move (Qe7/Nb5)