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I am a French Defense opening player from both sides. I don't like exchange line of the French Defense. They are drawish positions and my brain gets bored resulting in a positional or small mistake.

I have never played it at a 90+30 FIDE rated games, and I know the engine says this is not good at all. Anyhow I have played c5 with black several times on blitz, and I still do it.

The level of the players I play against rounds the range 1650-1900. There are some tricks if white don't plays well. Sometimes, especially for the players with lower rating. d4 or d5 pawns get pinned and become a trouble.

Should I stop playing it?

rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/4p3/2pP4/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq c6 0 4

I think I should have played this following line some dozens of times, having good results with black at blitz at a level 1650-1800. 

[FEN ""]
[Date "2018.07.29"]
[Round "-"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 c5 4. dxe6 Bxe6 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. Nf3 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 O-O-O *

Less frequent, but sometimes they fall, I recover the pawn, and there is misdevelopment. eg:

[FEN ""]
[Date "2018.07.29"]
[Round "-"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 c5 4. dxc5 Bxc5 5. dxe6 Bxf2+ 6. Ke2 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 
Bxe6 *

At some of the games I played -note it is blitz- they have clear they wanted an exchange and they just do not try to profit white's advantages. Then I like to have my pawn at c5 and accept the exchange and avoid the gambit variation.

[FEN ""]
[Date "2018.07.29"]
[Round "-"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 c5 4. Nf3 exd5 *
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2
  • Done. If I remeber more lines I will add them. I don't know how to quit those blank spaces. If someone please can edit and explain me what I did wrong it would be helpful if I post more diagrams. I have asked too at a comment on the meta post. thanks in advance
    – user16971
    Jul 29, 2018 at 0:14
  • I should have posted if this is acurated for blitz at a medium level, but I have seen some troubles after changing the tittle of an answered question.
    – user16971
    Jul 29, 2018 at 0:20

3 Answers 3

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3

This gambit looks extremely dubious since you give a central pawn, White has played only developing moves and she has no weakness.

Besides the unassuming 4.Nf3, insisting on an exchange French, you could be worried about:

  • 4.Nc3, transposing into the rare Marshall French (3.Nc3 c5?! 4.ed5). It is considered to favour White. The very slight plus side for you is that since White has played 3.ed5, he might not be too familiar with this line.

  • 4.c4, when after 4...ed5 the very open position means that the extra tempo will probably be valuable.

  • 4.de6, grabing the pawn in exchange for a single developing tempo. After 4...Be6 5.Nf3 there is no doubt that Black's compensation is unsufficient.

  • 4.Bb5+, probably the most critical, accepting the challenge. After 4...Bd7, any of 5.Nc3, 5.a4 a6?! 6.Bc4 and 5.Qe2 make sense.

All in all, you can use this line in online blitz in you like to (but I wouldn't). However I consider it totally unsuitable for 'serious' chess with rapid or classical time controls.

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2

I don't see the point of saccing a pawn for no reason. The exchange french can lead to sharp positions, in fact as white I play exchange french when trying to win as well. Perhaps you need to study the opening a bit more before jumping to conclusions.

I would castle long, and pawn race on opposite sides of the board.

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2

My initial reaction is that as white I'm going to play Bb5+ followed by de and ef+ if you let me. I might even be prepared to sacrifice the bishop on b5. Your king is going to be very exposed.

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5
  • I think Bb5 is stokfish move. But I migth have a win ratio because they get stumped at blitz. To be frank I said 1650-1900 but that is my range of oponnnets. For +1800 I just play the exchange most of times.
    – user16971
    Jul 28, 2018 at 23:37
  • Is this your sac @Brian Towers ? I find it nice for blitz but stockfish says black is winning i.stack.imgur.com/DJgCw.png Stockfish plays dxc6 I realized. But at a blitz game at my level that looks to me complex to refute, knowing there is sure refutation and is probably not at any chess book. Looks like playing a Smith-Morra with white, nice for blitz.
    – user16971
    Jul 29, 2018 at 13:52
  • I I also find it interesting that black is winning according to stock fish, but it looks hard to play in Blitz. If u sac the bishop on b5 then you have ef7+ followed by Qh5+ and Qf3+ which threatens b7 and consequently the black bishop on b5, rook on a8, and not to mention you have recovered yet another pawn back.
    – Isac
    Jul 29, 2018 at 19:29
  • 1
    @Universal_learner At blitz I would not be able to resist the temptation to sacrifice the bishop. It looks like a lot of fun. At standard I would have a long think and then it would depend on the game and my mood. In a team match I might not be very popular if I gambitted and lost :-).
    – Brian Towers ♦
    Jul 29, 2018 at 21:16
  • the problem I see of taking on b7 -after Qf3+ is Bc6 and g2 pawn falls loosing material @Isac
    – user16971
    Jul 29, 2018 at 23:30

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