Answers.Body: <p>People (like myself) who occasionally play 1.Nc3 regard this as a main line and are not unhappy to see it. The book by Keilhack mentioned by @mleonard is excellent (as a general chess book) and points out all the transpositional possibilities that White might try to confuse you with. As a counter to some of the remarks made above, White does not always intend d4. He often plays Bc4 or Bb5 followed by d3. If he decides to play e5, he can support it with f4. Because d4 has not been played, ..c5 has less point. Since Whites QN has no better square than g3, Black can stir up trouble with ..h5, but White has seen this before.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-12-03T16:50:38.210Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-12-03T16:50:38.210Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Philip Roe
Answers.Body: <p>As Black, I'd play 2 ... c5. White has failed to occupy d4 with his second move, so I would try to head off his occupation of that square.</p>
  
  <p>Of course, White may be headed for a more restrained version of the French defense, that is, no e5, and d3 instead of d4, but that gives Black some chance to capture the initiative.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-01-31T15:21:54.947Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-01-31T15:21:54.947Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Tom Au
Answers.Body: <p>In Harald Keilhack's book "Knight on the Left: 1.Nc3" he discusses the position after 1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 and identifies 2...d5 as the most likely Black response.</p>
  
  <p>A transposition to a Sicilian with 2...c5 is possible. But it seems an odd move order for a 1...e6 player. Why not play 1...c5 instead?</p>
  
  <p>2...Nf6 could lead to a sideline of the Alekhine's Defence after 3.e5
  Other options are 2...b6 (Owen's Defence) or 2...Nc6 (when 3.d4 Bb4 is a possibility).</p>
  
  <p>2...Bb4 is a little-studied position and White has a large number of playable moves. These include 3.Nge2, 3.Nf3, 3.g3, 3.d3, 3.a3, 3.Nb5!? and 3.Qg4!?</p>
  
  <p>Here is a sample game: <a href="http://chess-db.com/public/game.jsp?id=1137004095.24626040.72356864" rel="nofollow">Gmeinwieser-Bromberger, Bavaria 1999</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-02-08T11:36:39.453Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-02-08T11:50:46.257Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2014-02-08T11:50:46.257Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: mleonard
Answers.Body: <p>It is very hard to answer this question <strong>without White's next move after you played <code>d5</code>.</strong> I bet he tried something like <code>3.Nf3</code> or even <code>3.d3</code> would not surprise me.</p>
  
  <p>You see, the move <code>2.Nc3</code> is not bad-it follows all the opening rules, and is used <strong>only to transpose from one opening into another</strong> or <strong>to dodge certain variations that are unpleasant for White.</strong></p>
  
  <p>In my opinion, I <strong>assume</strong> that White <strong>did not want to play main lines</strong> of the <em>French defense</em> so he tried to trick you to transpose into another opening or another line, the one you do not know. </p>
  
  <p>This is especially useful in blitz games. Your move-<code>2.d5</code>-is the best move. </p>
  
  <p>Never fool around with transpositions when you play blitz, always spend <strong>the least amount of time possible</strong> on openings. <strong>Quality blitz games</strong> are won in the middle game or by the expiration of thinking time, not in the opening.</p>
  
  <p>The main point of <code>2.Nc3</code> is that <strong>it can not be refuted</strong>, and <strong>it can not give White a bad position.</strong></p>
  
  <p>White tries to force you to waste <strong>important thinking time</strong> on the opening trying to refute this move. You could play <code>2.c5</code> here but why? After <code>c5</code> you get <em>Sicilian defense</em> which is <strong>not your repertoire against <code>1.e4</code> is it?</strong> Therefore, White would achieve his goal-he would transpose into opening <strong>you do not know</strong>-because if you intended to play the <em>Sicilian defense</em> at the first place you would respond with <code>1.c5</code> not with <code>1.e6</code> right?</p>
  
  <p>If <code>2.Nf6</code> he can dodge the <em>French defense</em> by playing <code>3.e5!</code> which might give him a slight opening advantage. If <code>2.Nc6</code> with the idea to play <code>e5</code> and transpose into favorable version of the <em>Italian game</em> then <code>3.d4</code> transposes into some sort of <em>Nimzovich defense</em> and you are out of your opening in both cases.</p>
  
  <p>On <code>2.Bb4</code> White can now go for <code>3.Nge2!?</code> with events developing something like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[fen ""]
  
  1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nge2 d5 4.a3 Ba5 5.d4 dxe4
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This position is known in the <em>Winawer French defense</em>-it is coded as <code>C15</code> in the <code>ECO</code> and the above is the sideline. This variation is not played with bishop on <code>a5</code>, and being unable to find any theoretical resource that mentions this position in <em>Winawer line</em> I must conclude that the move <code>Ba5</code> in the regular line is bad-which is precisely the goal of White's <strong>altered</strong> move order. In the normal <em>Winawer</em> things would go like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[fen ""]
  
  1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2 dxe4 5.a3 Bxc3+ ( 5...Be7!? )
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>We can list other moves or possibilities for Black after White plays <code>2.Nc3</code>, but let us keep this post short and answer your question:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <ol>
    <li>e4 e6 2. Nc3 - how should Black respond?</li>
    </ol>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Again, I consider your <code>d5</code> to be the strongest move-both for theoretical <strong>and psychological/practical</strong> reasons explained below:</p>
  
  <p><strong>Do not experiment with transpositions</strong> or you may end up in a position that will very likely be <strong>unfavorable for you.</strong> You can break this rule only if you are <strong>100% sure</strong> that transposition can benefit you. If not then decline it <strong>by staying in your opening.</strong> Most of the time this is the best choice to make and <strong>the most unpleasant one for the side trying to trick you.</strong></p>
  
  <p>If you have further questions leave a comment and I will reply.</p>
  
  <p>Best regards.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-01-30T18:37:11.163Z
Answers.Text: 3.d3 was indeed White's next move.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Marcus Junius Brutus
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-01-30T19:21:56.223Z
Answers.Text: @MarcusJuniusBrutus: So obvious :) I do not know if you realize it, but with `d5` you actually won a psychological war. I do not play the *French defense* that often but `c5` should be good for you. Then `Nc6` and then **exchange on `e4`** so he can not transpose into *King's Indian Attack` or something else. He will have to lose a tempo to contest the center with `d4` or else you will have space advantage. Hopefully this helped. Best regards.
Answers.UserDisplayName: AlwaysLearningNewStuff
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-01-30T18:18:21.263Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-01-31T03:53:10.500Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2014-01-31T03:53:10.500Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: AlwaysLearningNewStuff
Body: <p>I had White deviate from the French main line in a blitz game by playing:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[FEN ""]
  1. e4 e6 2. Nc3
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Since this line is not discussed in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Defence" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia article on French defence</a> I am thinking that Black may have better options than to simply pursue normal French development with:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[FEN ""]
  [StartPly "3"]
  
  1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 d5
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>(which is what I played, it being a blitz game and all)</p>
  
  <p>I was thinking maybe it's worthwhile to respond with:
  <code>2...Bb4</code>
  with the aim of a Bishop-Knight exchange and forcing White to suffer double pawns on the c-file.
  Or try the non-committing: <code>2...Nf6</code> or <code>2...Nc6</code>.</p>
  
  <p>The chess engine XBoard / Fairy-Max 4.8Q with 50 minutes available time for Black (for 40 moves) suggested <code>2...Be7</code>.</p>
  
  <p>Any thoughts?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-12-03T17:45:31.820Z
Comments.Text: Is there a particular line you don't like after 2...d5? Because to me it seems like you'll transpose to one of the mainlines most of the time. I don't like 2...Nf6 at all due to 3.e5, and after 2...Nc6 3.d4, White has an improved version of the French Defense. 2...Bb4 doesn't look bad at all if you are a Winaver player
Comments.UserDisplayName: David
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-01-31T02:22:45.183Z
Comments.Text: You mean "double pawns on the c file", right?
Comments.UserDisplayName: TKR
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-01-31T10:04:05.537Z
Comments.Text: @TKR yeap, fixed that.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Marcus Junius Brutus
Tags: <opening><theory><french-defense>
Title: 1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 - how should Black respond?
ThreadText: # 1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 - how should Black respond?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-30)
  
  I had White deviate from the French main line in a blitz game by playing:
  [FEN ""]
  1. e4 e6 2. Nc3
  
  Since this line is not discussed in the Wikipedia article on French defence I am thinking that Black may have better options than to simply pursue normal French development with:
  [FEN ""]
  [StartPly "3"]
  
  1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 d5
  
  (which is what I played, it being a blitz game and all)
  I was thinking maybe it's worthwhile to respond with:
  2...Bb4
  with the aim of a Bishop-Knight exchange and forcing White to suffer double pawns on the c-file.
  Or try the non-committing: 2...Nf6 or 2...Nc6.
  The chess engine XBoard / Fairy-Max 4.8Q with 50 minutes available time for Black (for 40 moves) suggested 2...Be7.
  Any thoughts?
  
  **Tags:** opening, theory, french-defense
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: You mean "double pawns on the c file", right?  
  > **username_0**: @username_2 yeap, fixed that.  
  > **username_1**: Is there a particular line you don't like after 2...d5? Because to me it seems like you'll transpose to one of the mainlines most of the time. I don't like 2...Nf6 at all due to 3.e5, and after 2...Nc6 3.d4, White has an improved version of the French Defense. 2...Bb4 doesn't look bad at all if you are a Winaver player  
  
  ---
  
  ## 4 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_6 on 2014-01-30. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
  
  It is very hard to answer this question without White's next move after you played d5. I bet he tried something like 3.Nf3 or even 3.d3 would not surprise me.
  You see, the move 2.Nc3 is not bad-it follows all the opening rules, and is used only to transpose from one opening into another or to dodge certain variations that are unpleasant for White.
  In my opinion, I assume that White did not want to play main lines of the French defense so he tried to trick you to transpose into another opening or another line, the one you do not know. 
  This is especially useful in blitz games. Your move-2.d5-is the best move. 
  Never fool around with transpositions when you play blitz, always spend the least amount of time possible on openings. Quality blitz games are won in the middle game or by the expiration of thinking time, not in the opening.
  The main point of 2.Nc3 is that it can not be refuted, and it can not give White a bad position.
  White tries to force you to waste important thinking time on the opening trying to refute this move. You could play 2.c5 here but why? After c5 you get Sicilian defense which is not your repertoire against 1.e4 is it? Therefore, White would achieve his goal-he would transpose into opening you do not know-because if you intended to play the Sicilian defense at the first place you would respond with 1.c5 not with 1.e6 right?
  If 2.Nf6 he can dodge the French defense by playing 3.e5! which might give him a slight opening advantage. If 2.Nc6 with the idea to play e5 and transpose into favorable version of the Italian game then 3.d4 transposes into some sort of Nimzovich defense and you are out of your opening in both cases.
  On 2.Bb4 White can now go for 3.Nge2!? with events developing something like this:
  [fen ""]
  
  1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nge2 d5 4.a3 Ba5 5.d4 dxe4
  
  This position is known in the Winawer French defense-it is coded as C15 in the ECO and the above is the sideline. This variation is not played with bishop on a5, and being unable to find any theoretical resource that mentions this position in Winawer line I must conclude that the move Ba5 in the regular line is bad-which is precisely the goal of White's altered move order. In the normal Winawer things would go like this:
  [fen ""]
  
  1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2 dxe4 5.a3 Bxc3+ ( 5...Be7!? )
  
  We can list other moves or possibilities for Black after White plays 2.Nc3, but let us keep this post short and answer your question:
  
  
  e4 e6 2. Nc3 - how should Black respond?
  
  
  Again, I consider your d5 to be the strongest move-both for theoretical and psychological/practical reasons explained below:
  Do not experiment with transpositions or you may end up in a position that will very likely be unfavorable for you. You can break this rule only if you are 100% sure that transposition can benefit you. If not then decline it by staying in your opening. Most of the time this is the best choice to make and the most unpleasant one for the side trying to trick you.
  If you have further questions leave a comment and I will reply.
  Best regards.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: 3.d3 was indeed White's next move.  
  > **username_6**: @MarcusJuniusBrutus: So obvious :) I do not know if you realize it, but with `d5` you actually won a psychological war. I do not play the *French defense* that often but `c5` should be good for you. Then `Nc6` and then **exchange on `e4`** so he can not transpose into *King's Indian Attack` or something else. He will have to lose a tempo to contest the center with `d4` or else you will have space advantage. Hopefully this helped. Best regards.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2020-12-03. Score: 1
  
  People (like myself) who occasionally play 1.Nc3 regard this as a main line and are not unhappy to see it. The book by Keilhack mentioned by @username_5 is excellent (as a general chess book) and points out all the transpositional possibilities that White might try to confuse you with. As a counter to some of the remarks made above, White does not always intend d4. He often plays Bc4 or Bb5 followed by d3. If he decides to play e5, he can support it with f4. Because d4 has not been played, ..c5 has less point. Since Whites QN has no better square than g3, Black can stir up trouble with ..h5, but White has seen this before.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2014-01-31. Score: 0
  
  As Black, I'd play 2 ... c5. White has failed to occupy d4 with his second move, so I would try to head off his occupation of that square.
  
  Of course, White may be headed for a more restrained version of the French defense, that is, no e5, and d3 instead of d4, but that gives Black some chance to capture the initiative.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2014-02-08. Score: 0
  
  In Harald Keilhack's book "Knight on the Left: 1.Nc3" he discusses the position after 1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 and identifies 2...d5 as the most likely Black response.
  
  A transposition to a Sicilian with 2...c5 is possible. But it seems an odd move order for a 1...e6 player. Why not play 1...c5 instead?
  
  2...Nf6 could lead to a sideline of the Alekhine's Defence after 3.e5
  Other options are 2...b6 (Owen's Defence) or 2...Nc6 (when 3.d4 Bb4 is a possibility).
  
  2...Bb4 is a little-studied position and White has a large number of playable moves. These include 3.Nge2, 3.Nf3, 3.g3, 3.d3, 3.a3, 3.Nb5!? and 3.Qg4!?
  
  Here is a sample game: [Gmeinwieser-Bromberger, Bavaria 1999](http://chess-db.com/public/game.jsp?id=1137004095.24626040.72356864)
  
  
  ---
  
  