Bb5 AGAINST THE ADVANCE FRENCH  

Robert asks:

In your books you speak of imbalances, most notably the imbalance of the Superior Minor Piece. And that leads my training partner and I to a question about the French Defense Advance Variation. After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 would 5.Bb5 be a good move at this point? The idea is to take Black’s Knight on c6 due to the closed position of the opening, and the fact that Knights stand much better in such closed positions – or would this be a mistake giving up the benefit of the two Bishops? My friend and I have looked at it while studying your book, and would like to know what your experience has taught you. 

Also, would 4...a6, stopping the Bishop from coming to b5, be a good move for Black as he wants to keep his Knights?

DOES THE BISHOP on b5 BOTHER BLACK?

Silman replies:

The first thing you have to do is ascertain whether or not Bb5 is an actual threat. If it’s not, then your 4…a6 merely wastes a tempo to stop White from playing a poor move! Doesn’t make sense in that light, does it?

So, after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6, is 5.Bb5 wise (the usual move is 5.Nf3)? The answer is no, 5.Bb5 would be a dubious move for White. Let’s look at the logic:

White’s normal plan in the position after 3.e5 is to firmly protect the d4-pawn and then, once his center is firm, make use of his central space advantage. This could lead to an attack against Black’s King, or even queenside expansion by a well-timed a2-a3 followed by b2-b4.

Black’s plan usually focuses on placing pressure against d4. His c6-Knight and c5-pawn both work towards this goal, and when Black adds moves like …Qb6 and a later …Ng8-h6/e7-f5, we see that d4 can indeed face some serious heat.

So how does your Bb5 affect these basic ideas? It seems to prepare to chop off the Knight on c6, which hopefully would lessen Black’s pressure against d4. But this is more optical illusion than reality: 5.Bb5 Qb6 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 and now we can see what 5.Bb5 has wrought:

White has lost his important light-squared Bishop, which eventually would have been able to go to d3 and stare at the kingside. ADVANTAGE BLACK.

Black has pulled a side pawn towards the center (…bxc6). This not only gives Black access to a half-open b-file, but also allows the “newly born” c-pawn to join in the blast against d4 (…cxd4 followed by …c6-c5 will do the trick). ADVANTAGE BLACK.

Black’s light-squared Bishop is often looked at as one of the main problems with the French Defense. However, now it’s a very happy piece since …Ba6 will allow it to spike directly into White’s guts. ADVANTAGE BLACK.

As can be seen, Black should celebrate if White plays 5.Bb5 (and many amateurs do indeed play that move!). Therefore stopping it by 4…a6 makes no sense at all.

Finally I should address how all this relates to possible Bishop vs. Knight battles, and closed positions generally favoring Knights. I was impressed that you both were trying hard to think about these concepts and apply them right in the opening. However, things are not completely closed yet (and can easily get blasted open if Black strikes at e5 with an eventual …f7-f6 break), and White’s Bishops still have a lot of scope. Thus, it’s much too early to speak of them as being inferior to the Black Knights.

Don’t forget that pawn structure creates open or closed formations. Thus, you should be trying to understand the needs of the pawn structure, and be conversant with the common plans that different structures demand. In the French, both sides need to address the relative strength or weakness of d4. Once that is done, and once the spatial parameters are clearly defined, then thoughts of bringing the Rooks to an open file, attacking the King, the creation of a superior minor piece, and a host of other ideas can be implemented.

Yes, there are many moments in the opening where a minor piece swap (Bishop for Knight) allows you to begin a plan where you change the pawn structure to favor your respective minor piece. But in our present situation, there are simply too many ideas, too much flux, and too much importance on the strength/weakness of d4 to jump on the minor piece bandwagon this quickly.

Another way to put it is: in your zeal to get a superior minor piece and create a long-term static advantage, you overlooked the dynamic ramifications!