Hi Dennis,

In the French Tarrasch variation: After 1. e4 e5 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6. White often plays 7. Ne2 and then later puts the d2 knight on f3. Recently I (+/-1900 elo) played a game where I played 7.Ngf3 instead of Ne2. During the analysis I got scolded by some very strong experts and an FM for playing this move. According to them, white loses the pawn on d4 (after 7. Qb6 0-0) for example. Can white prevent the loss of a pawn after Ngf3 without getting a bad position? And is the position after 7. Qb6 0-0 8. cxd4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 really that terrible for white? In my database, hardly anyone takes on d4. The most common move is 8. Be7, which is what my opponent did. Why isn't taking on d4 more commonly played, does white get a lot of compensation? Also, what are some plans for white if black doesn't take, but plays 'the usual, common sense French moves'? What advantages does white have in those positions over having the knight on e2 and placing the other knight on f3?

Thanks for taking the time to answer reader questions and making great videos.

FYI
7.Ngf3 is recently popular and trendy known as korchnoi gambit
e.g., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on2xy6ty2Qg

Wow, thanks for Katar. Helpful as always!

Beat an FM in a blitz game with the gambit. He didn't know the line and I got a lot of compensation for the pawn. Just thought I'd mention it.

When you do not win the game what’s your feelings?

Hi Dennis. I've noticed that in my games I have reached an exchange ending fairly frequently. This means that one side has a rook, the other side has a minor piece and both players have pawns. Can you talk about some winning or drawing plans for each player, both in the case where pawns are relatively equal and the rook has an advantage, and the case where the minor has an advantage because of a significant pawn majority? Is it usually better to have a knight or bishop here?

Dear Mr Monokroussos,

What do you think of the
Reti/Spielmann system versus the French (e4 e6 b3 d5 Bb2 dxe4 continuing
with Nc3 Qe2 and 0-0-0)?
I play this system and obviously think it is pretty interesting. My believe
is that it is an underrated system against the French.
I know it is also an ok system against the Caro-Kann. Could you tell me what
the mayor differences are?