Black Openings with simple middlegame plans ?

I currently play the French and the Queens Gambit declined and normally leave the opening with an advantage or equality but fail to convert those because i mess up the middlegames a lot.

Are there some black defenses you can recommend that are "simple" in nature ?

For most of us, no matter what openings we play, the middlegame is going to become complex and we'll probably mess it up. Hopefully our opponents mess it up more. If you're leaving the opening with an advantage or equality for the black pieces then you're doing excellent and you should probably just focus on middlegame strategy instead.

But if you really want to try something new, since you like the French, then you might like the Caro-Kann. I'm not sure the middlegame plans are any more simple, but it's fairly easy to reach a playable middlegame position. I think the hardest line to meet is the advance variation, so I made a study about one way to deal with it, and wrote a blog post about it if you're interested.

https://lichess.org/@/njswift/blog/the-advance-caro-kann/XbHlmGz2

@njswift said in #2:

For most of us, no matter what openings we play, the middlegame is going to become complex and we'll probably mess it up. Hopefully our opponents mess it up more. If you're leaving the opening with an advantage or equality for the black pieces then you're doing excellent and you should probably just focus on middlegame strategy instead.

But if you really want to try something new, since you like the French, then you might like the Caro-Kann. I'm not sure the middlegame plans are any more simple, but it's fairly easy to reach a playable middlegame position. I think the hardest line to meet is the advance variation, so I made a study about one way to deal with it, and wrote a blog post about it if you're interested.

lichess.org/@/njswift/blog/the-advance-caro-kann/XbHlmGz2
Thank you ! I will definitly have a look at it !

I mean, if you want to play a simple game, play simple improving moves when you can, and accept equal trades of pieces liberally. You can play certain opening lines (Berlin, exchange Slav, etc.) to try to move things toward a less complex position, but this often requires cooperation from your opponent.

@TheKingClash said in #4:

You could try the Sicilian Najdorf. In most cases, the plan for black is to pawnstorm on the queenside, fianchetto the Queen's bishop and also attack in the centre, with ...b5 as well as ...d5, exploiting the central pawn majority. Against 1.d4 you could try the King's Indian, where the plan is to expand on the kingside with ...Bg7, ...f5-f4 and attack the base of White's pawn chain.

The Sicilian Najdorf and the King's Indian are very complicated openings at a certain level, they can get you into pretty complicated positions. The Caro-Kann is a simple opening that does not take many risks and is playable at all levels.

I'm going to get a few eyerolls with this answer, but I think you'll be better off in the long term if you try to improve your middle game instead of trying new openings, especially if you "normally leave the opening with an advantage or equality".

@Astrodynamo1234 said in #6:

The Sicilian Najdorf and the King's Indian are very complicated openings at a certain level, they can get you into pretty complicated positions.

Arguably the plans in the mainlines are fairly simple, though - checkmate the opponent while not getting checkmated yourself! It's just the execution that takes a bit of work.

That said, I do agree with @Frogster64 as well...

Simple MG plans? Hard to get simpler than playing the stonewall dutch vs d4. vs. e4 French is a tough struggle but the plans for both sides are pretty clear and not so sensitive to precise move orders, generally [&w. exceptions]. Any variation with opposite side castling will also have simple MG plans.

@RamblinDave said in #8:

Arguably the plans in the mainlines are fairly simple, though - checkmate the opponent while not getting checkmated yourself! It's just the execution that takes a bit of work.

That said, I do agree with @Frogster64 as well...

Even if the plans are fairly simple, manoeuvring through the middle game in cramped positions (as in the King's Indian defence) can be a large disadvantage for players who are not well informed in modern openings and their common themes. Learning such an opening can be a great weapon, but even if you know the theory, I would recommend only 2000+ players to play it.
The Sicilian Najdorf is again, a strong weapon against e4 and has been proven to have great success, but there is so much deep theory in the Sicilian and many lines to learn.
The Open Sicilian
The Smith-Morra Gambit
The Alapin Sicilian
The Closed Sicilian
The Grand Prix Attack
And probably some other variations involving fianchettoed bishops or other stuff I don't know about.
That's a lot of theory to learn which might be more beneficial to know when you have a higher rating. There is nothing wrong with playing the Sicilian when you are under 2000 I just think it may be too advanced (that's my opinion, some people may think I'm wrong and there's nothing wrong with that).

I also agree with Frogster, if you don't have any trouble coming from the opening, then maybe the middlegame is where you should improve, I think playing puzzles could be useful in such situations.