C16 French: 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5: Lines without ...c5 (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.Qg4)

The French Defense has intrigued me quite some time and lately this year I have tried to play on several occasions, usually with bad results. I have mostly played against 1.e4 the move e5 since as long as I remember and I think it suits me better than the French but as I have played the same stuff for years I want to sometimes experiment on something different. My really bad results at Chess.com might be due to the openings I have tried to play there, at least some of the reason might be there. If I would play my tried and true openings I might get better results. At least for the time being, I am trying the new stuff in order to get maybe some fresh ideas on how to play the game. In case your wondering, I did not update my older posts today, since there was no suitable game to add there.

Game number two. This was played in the first round of the WORLD OPEN RAPID tournament that was held at the FIDE Online Arena on April 10th 2015. This was the second tournament in a row at FOA where I lost a game on the first round against much lower rated player. The only two times I have faced this opponent, have been on the first round of these tournaments but the result was favorable to me in the first encounter. I had chances to win this game as well but misplayed and gave too much play for my opponent.

[Event "Let's Play!"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2011.07.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "dbielawa"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C16"] [WhiteElo "1870"] [BlackElo "1798"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2011.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 {C16 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation} Ne7 5. Qg4 {C16 French: 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5: Lines without ...c5} Ng6 {0.88/19} (5... c5 $1 $15 {-0.35/20 keeps the upper hand.}) 6. h4 {0.24/23} (6. a3 $16 {0.88/19} Bxc3+ 7. bxc3) 6... h5 $1 $11 7. Qg3 $1 c5 $1 8. Nf3 $146 {-0.33/22} (8. Bd3 $16 {0.87/22} cxd4 9. Bxg6 (9. a3 Be7 10. Nce2 Bxh4 11. Qh3 Bxf2+ 12. Kxf2 Nxe5 13. Qg3 Qf6+ 14. Nf3 Nbc6 15. Bg5 Nxd3+ 16. cxd3 Qf5 17. Nf4 g6 18. Qh4 Rf8 19. Bf6 Bd7 20. Rac1 Rc8 21. Rhe1 Rg8 22. b4 a6 23. Rc5 Kf8 {Robson,R (2615)-Roselli Mailhe,B (2449) Campinas 2013 1-0 (35)}) 9... fxg6 10. Qxg6+ Kd7 11. a3 Be7 12. Nce2 Nc6 13. Nf3 Qe8 14. Qg3 Qf7 15. Nexd4 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 a6 17. Be3 Ke8 18. Rh3 Bd7 19. Bg5 Rc8 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Qg6+ Qf7 22. Qd3 Rh6 23. Rg3 {Md Saiful Islam,C (2120)-Alam,B (1858) Dhaka 2018 1-0 (34)}) (8. a3 Bxc3+ (8... cxd4 9. axb4 dxc3 10. Bd3 cxb2 11. Bxb2 Ne7 12. Qxg7 Rg8 13. Qh7 Qb6 14. Ne2 Qxb4+ 15. Bc3 Qg4 16. f3 Qg7 17. Qxg7 Rxg7 18. Nf4 Nd7 19. Kf2 Nc6 20. Nxh5 Rg8 21. f4 Rh8 22. g4 Nc5 23. Nf6+ {Manthey,F-Hauer,N Grünheide 1997 1-0 (42)}) 9. bxc3 cxd4 10. Bd3 Qc7 11. Ne2 Qxe5 12. f4 Qf6 13. Nxd4 a6 14. Bd2 Bd7 15. Rb1 b5 16. Nf3 Nc6 17. O-O O-O 18. Rbe1 Rfe8 19. Ng5 Rac8 20. Qf3 Nxh4 21. Qxh5 Qh6 22. Qxf7+ Kh8 {Schmidt,J (2163)-Seiler,D Leipzig 2000 1-0}) 8... Nc6 {0.76/22} (8... cxd4 $15 {-0.33/22} 9. Nxd4 O-O) 9. a3 {-0.24/20} (9. Bd3 $1 $16 {0.76/22}) 9... cxd4 {1.07/20} (9... Qa5 $1 $11 {-0.24/20} 10. Bd2 Nxd4) 10. axb4 $16 {[#] And now Nb5 would win.} dxc3 11. bxc3 {0.02/20} (11. Bd3 $1 $16 {1.25/18}) 11... Qc7 $1 $11 12. Bf4 {-1.06/21} (12. Kd1 $11 {0.28/23 remains equal.}) 12... Nce7 $2 {0.87/21} (12... Nxb4 $1 $17 {-1.06/21 stays on course.} 13. Kd2 Nxf4 14. Qxf4 Nc6) 13. Bd2 {-0.34/26} (13. Ra3 $1 $16 {0.87/21 }) 13... Nf5 $1 $15 14. Qh2 Bd7 {0.35/22} (14... Nh6 $11 {-0.28/22}) 15. Bd3 $14 {[#] aiming for Bxf5.} Nfe7 {1.29/20} (15... O-O $11 {0.12/23}) 16. Qg3 Nf5 $2 {5.18/20} (16... O-O $16 {1.00/24 is more resistant.}) 17. Bxf5 $1 $18 exf5 18. O-O $2 {0.69/24} (18. e6 $1 $18 {5.24/18} Qxg3 (18... Bxe6 19. Qxc7) 19. exd7+ Kxd7 20. fxg3) 18... O-O 19. Rfe1 f4 20. Qg5 Bg4 21. Nd4 Qe7 22. Qxe7 { 0.89/22} (22. Bxf4 $142 {1.42/24} Qxg5 23. Bxg5) 22... Nxe7 $16 23. Bxf4 Ng6 { 1.50/23} (23... Be6 $142 {0.81/24}) 24. Bg3 {1.08/25} ({Better is} 24. Bd2 { 1.50/23}) 24... Rfe8 {1.92/22} (24... a6 $16 {1.08/25}) 25. Ra5 {1.12/26} (25. Nb5 $1 $18 {1.92/22}) 25... Be6 26. f4 {Strongly threatening f5.} Ne7 27. Rea1 {0.87/25} (27. Rf1 $142 $1 {1.34/22}) 27... Rec8 {1.69/23} (27... a6 $16 { 0.87/25 keeps fighting.}) 28. Be1 {0.75/24} (28. Rxa7 $18 {1.69/23} Rxa7 29. Rxa7) 28... a6 29. b5 {0.49/24} (29. Bd2 $16 {1.00/23}) 29... Rc5 {1.05/22} ( 29... Nf5 $14 {0.49/24}) 30. Nb3 Rc4 31. g3 $36 {White is pushing.} Bc8 32. bxa6 bxa6 {1.35/22} (32... Rxa6 $142 {0.76/24} 33. Rxa6 bxa6) 33. Kf2 {0.67/24} (33. Nd4 $16 {1.35/22}) 33... Nc6 {1.26/22} (33... f6 $14 {0.67/24}) 34. Rxd5 Be6 {1.86/21} (34... Bf5 $16 {1.05/24 was necessary.} 35. Rd6 g6) 35. Rc5 Ne7 { 2.04/20} (35... Rxc5 $16 {1.55/25 was worth a try.} 36. Nxc5 Bc8) 36. Ke3 Rxc5 37. Nxc5 Bc4 38. Kd4 Bb5 39. c4 Rd8+ 40. Kc3 Rc8 41. Bf2 ({Resist} 41. cxb5 Rxc5+ 42. Kd4 Rxb5 $18) ({Less strong is} 41. Nxa6 Rxc4+ 42. Kb3 Rc8 $16) 41... Be8 42. Rxa6 Nf5 43. Ne4 Bb5 44. Ra5 Bxc4 45. Rc5 {1.49/27} (45. Nd6 $18 { 3.06/20} Nxd6 46. exd6 Be6+ 47. Kd3) 45... Rxc5 46. Nxc5 {Endgame KBN-KBN} Be2 47. Kb4 Kf8 48. Ne4 Ke7 49. c4 Kd7 50. Ng5 Ke8 {1.53/25} ({Black should play} 50... f6 {1.07/26}) 51. Kc5 Ne7 52. Ne4 Nc8 {2.63/24} (52... Nf5 $16 {1.43/27 is a better defense.} 53. Kb4 Bf3) 53. Nd6+ $2 {1.02/26} (53. f5 $18 {2.63/24 and White stays clearly on top.}) 53... Nxd6 54. exd6 {Threatens to win with Kc6. KB-KB} Kd7 55. Kd5 Bf3+ 56. Kc5 g6 57. Bd4 Ke6 58. Bc3 Kd7 59. Bf6 Be2 { 2.51/31} (59... Bc6 $16 {1.09/42} 60. Bb2 Bh1) 60. Be7 {1.18/36} (60. Kd5 $1 $18 {2.51/31 and the rest is easy.}) 60... Bd3 {2.41/30} (60... Bf3 $16 { 1.18/36 might work better.} 61. Bf6 Bg2) 61. Kb5 {1.09/46} (61. Kd5 $18 { 2.41/30 is more deadly.}) 61... Be2 62. Kc5 {Accuracy: White = 32%, Black = 30%.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tournament 28811271"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.04.10"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "blancojefferson"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C16"] [WhiteElo "1849"] [BlackElo "1568"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 {C16 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation} Ne7 5. Qg4 {C16 French: 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5: Lines without ...c5} O-O $2 {1.05/20} (5... c5 $1 $15 {-0.52/20}) 6. Bg5 {-0.33/20} (6. Bd3 $16 { 1.05/20}) 6... c5 {0.41/23} (6... Nd7 $1 $15 {-0.33/20}) 7. Bf6 {[#]} g6 8. a3 {White has an edge.} Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Nd7 $146 (9... Qa5 10. Ne2 Nf5 11. Qh3 h5 12. g4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Bd3 Qxc3+ 15. Ke2 Bd7 16. a4 Nc6 17. gxh5 Nxe5 18. hxg6 Nxg6 19. Rhg1 {1-0 (19) Hahabis,N (2031)-Xiromeritis,E Aghios Kirykos 2008}) (9... c4 10. Qg5 Re8 11. g4 Nd7 12. h4 Nxf6 13. exf6 Nc6 14. f4 Qd6 15. h5 e5 16. f5 exd4+ 17. Kd1 h6 18. Qxh6 Qxf6 19. hxg6 fxg6 20. Bg2 Ne7 21. g5 Qxf5 22. Qh8+ Kf7 23. Rh7+ Ke6 24. Qxe8 {Nortes Hernandez,P (1896)-Aguado Zabaleta,F (1775) San Sebastian 2010 1-0}) 10. Bg5 $2 {-1.13/22} (10. Bxe7 $1 $14 {0.50/21} Qxe7 11. Nf3) 10... c4 $2 {2.35/18} (10... f6 $1 $17 {-1.13/22 keeps the pressure on.} 11. Bd2 (11. Qxe6+ $2 Rf7 $19) 11... fxe5 12. Qxe6+ Rf7 13. dxe5 Nb6) 11. h4 $2 {-0.54/21} (11. Qf4 $18 {2.35/18}) 11... f5 $2 {3.90/21 } (11... f6 $1 $15 {-0.54/21 keeps the upper hand.} 12. Qxe6+ Rf7) 12. Qg3 $18 f4 13. Bxf4 Nf5 14. Qg4 Qa5 {4.20/20} (14... Ng7 {2.89/22 was called for.} 15. Ne2 Nh5) 15. Bd2 Nxe5 {6.76/19} (15... Nh6 $142 {4.09/24} 16. Qxe6+ Nf7) 16. dxe5 Bd7 17. h5 Be8 18. hxg6 Bxg6 19. Nf3 Qb6 20. Qg5 Rf7 21. Be2 Kf8 22. g4 Ne7 23. Nd4 Bxc2 24. Nxc2 Qxf2+ 25. Kd1 Qg2 26. Qh6+ Ke8 27. Qh2 Qe4 28. Nd4 Kd7 29. Kc1 Nc6 30. Nxc6 bxc6 31. Rb1 Kc7 32. Rf1 Raf8 33. Rxf7+ Rxf7 34. Bg5 c5 35. Bf6 d4 36. Bxc4 $2 {0.54/21} (36. Qf2 $18 {9.87/18} Rd7 37. Bxc4 Qe3+ 38. Qxe3 dxe3 39. Rb2) 36... Qe1+ $14 37. Kb2 {0.07/22} (37. Kc2 $16 {0.79/22} Qxc3+ 38. Kd1 Qxc4 39. Qh3) 37... Qxc3+ $11 38. Ka2 Qxc4+ 39. Ka1 Qc3+ 40. Qb2 (40. Ka2 $5 Qc4+ 41. Ka1 $14) 40... Qxb2+ $1 41. Rxb2 {-0.69/22 Endgame KRB-KR} ({White should try} 41. Kxb2 $11 {0.28/28} Kc6 42. Kc2) 41... Kc6 $15 42. g5 $2 {-2.43/23} ({White should play} 42. Rb8 $15 {-0.47/26}) 42... Rb7 $19 43. Rd2 Kd5 44. Ka2 {-3.27/24} (44. Rb2 {-2.05/26 was the only chance.} Rxb2 45. Kxb2) 44... c4 45. g6 $2 {-4.11/23} (45. Rb2 {-2.36/23 keeps fighting.} Rd7 46. Rb4) 45... hxg6 46. Rg2 $2 {-8.31/22} (46. Rb2 {-3.93/25} Rh7 47. Rb5+ Ke4 48. Bd8) 46... c3 47. Bg5 Kxe5 48. Re2+ Kd5 {[#] Threatens to win with ...d3.} 49. Bf6 Rb2+ $2 {-0.09/33} (49... g5 $1 $19 {-4.37/23 White must now prevent ...g4.} 50. a4 (50. Bxg5 e5) 50... Rf7 51. Re5+ Kd6) 50. Rxb2 $11 cxb2 51. Kxb2 {KB-KP} e5 52. Kc2 e4 {Black has compensation.} 53. Kd2 Kc4 {And now ...d3 would win.} 54. Be5 $2 {-15.71/22} (54. Be7 $11 {-0.09/28}) 54... g5 $19 55. Bb8 a6 56. Ba7 g4 57. Bb8 Kb3 58. Bd6 Kc4 59. Be5 e3+ 60. Ke2 a5 {-12.39/25} (60... Kd5 $142 { -33.97/24} 61. Bh2 Ke4) 61. Bf6 a4 62. Be5 Kc3 {-61.00/28} (62... Kd5 $142 { -#17/29} 63. Bg3 Ke4 64. Bh2 d3+ 65. Ke1 Kf3 66. Bd6 g3 67. Kd1 g2 68. Bh2 Kf2 69. Kc1 Ke2 70. Kb2 d2 71. Kc3 d1=Q 72. Kc4 Kf3 73. Kb5 e2 74. Kc6 e1=Q 75. Bd6 g1=Q 76. Bf8 Qe8+ 77. Kb7 Qdd7+ 78. Ka6 Qb5#) 63. Bf4 Kb3 $2 {0.00/25} (63... g3 $1 $19 {-60.90/25 Strongly threatening ...g2.} 64. Kf3 (64. Bxg3 d3+) 64... Kc2 65. Bxg3 d3 66. Kxe3 d2) 64. Bd6 $2 {-49.09/22} (64. Kd3 $11 {0.00/25}) 64... Kc4 {-22.97/28} (64... Kc2 $142 {-49.09/22} 65. Bb4 g3) 65. Be5 Kd5 { Black mates.} 66. Bg3 Ke4 67. Bd6 d3+ 68. Ke1 Kf3 {Accuracy: White = 23%, Black = 39%.} 0-1