Originally posted by Squelchbelch
Yeah, but my point is he doesn't really need a backup if he plays the French well.
If it ain't broke...
I suppose the C-K is the next most awkward defence for white & has much less theory than 1...c5.
really, you need a backup...because in a OTB tournament it was preatty annoying when I played French in afirst game and got some drawish position...and again in a later game we have followed the first game(different opponent, of course) until move 13 or 14 and I lost later...as he was even better prepared...If you stick to some opening(and you prefer a special line in it), you make it easy for your opponents, because they can start preparing only from move 10 or so...Better players usually have a biger opening repertoire...
Ok, I agree, maybe in ONE tournament you should stick to only one opening...but it is better to have extra options and I also think this would develop your general chess skill, new plans and new ideas in play.
By the way, I also know some Sveshnikov, I used to play it, but I found it a bit more difficult for me than French.
And I hate 1 ...e5 🙂...all those gambits are preatty deadly in OTB if you are not accurate every single move. Of course, in RHP 1 ...e5 would be very playable for me, but I need the opening especially for OTB (because here I can play anything using a DB 🙂 )