tarrasch

Taking with the e-pawn would enter IQP territory, but white has Bb5+ ideas. The manoeuvre Qd5-d6 reminds me of Tiviakov, adding a Scandinavian flavour to the French defence.

Resources for this line:

• In-depth analysis of a variation in Luther’s Chess Reformation
• Giri’s chessable French lifetime repertoire
• Arkell’s endings by Keith Arkell

tl;dr

1. Common ending where white has 3+3 and black has 2+4, is playable for a black win. Arkell prefers minority attack, Luther focusses on K-side majority.
2. The middlegame is more dangerous for black because white can have a scary K-side attack with the queens on.
3. Black can plan his own K-side attack with O-O-O and g5 etc.

model games

link to pbn with my favourite model games

repertoire fragment lines

Disclaimer If you study these lines to spring a brilliant novelty on me, please forgive me when I forget the move-order early doors 😉

link to pbn