For whom would I recommend playing the exchange variation of the French Defense? First of all, for those players who strive for a clear and understandable game withgood endgame technique. We would also like to surprise our opponent to someextent, throw him off his preparation, and dull his vigilance. With good knowledge, we can not only claim a theoretical advantage, butalso exert some psychological pressure, since the opponent will lose his chances ofwinning. Perhaps they will become bored, and this will contribute to some kind ofaggressive action on the part of our rivals; perhaps this will only lead to a weakening,which is what we are trying to provoke. In the Caro-Kann Defense, I recommend playing 2.с4!?, the so-called English variation!So-named because the English maestro Elijah Williams played 2.c4 for the firsttime in 1845. The idea of exploring this option also came about by chance. I alwaysliked to study the opening and look for new, interesting and non-standard ideas. Atsome point, the old ideas became boring to me, and I wanted to look for somethingnew. My gaze and attention was drawn to how Oleksandr Bortnyk plays against theCaro-Kann defense. I began further study after the moves: 1.е4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.exd5 Nf6. Iwas surprised by the move: 5. Qа4!? You could say that I immediately fell in lovewith this move. Later, analyzing this option with engines a lot, I decided to create afile on my computer. The analysis expanded, I found interesting and new ideas, andthen I started playing them in online games and the results surprised me.
