I disagree with the if it is not broken why repair it statement . Last place I interned my team had to take functionalities out of main frame and developed a web app instead . The thing is is Cobol developers arewill get expensive . Therefore , in the long run it will be cheaper to upgrade and get more affordable employees . <| sep |> Why can you never get fully hard ? is the post ! <| sep |> Zelnite , Selena , Magress , Alice , Elza , Atro , then you can focus on the rest . Krantz . <| sep |> I find it very hard to believe your statement that your opponents are more booked up than you on the Kan , most 1400 players i know cant even tell me what the Kan is . In any case the problem is probably more with your play than with the openings . If you play passively you will get passive positions regardless of the opening . Ask yourself it you are keeping the tension when you should or just trading at every oportunity . When you play the french how long does it take for you to trade or push the c 5 pawn ? Are you more likely to push your plans forward or to defend against your opponents plans ? How often do you break whites center with f 6 in the french , or do you play with the singleminded approach of pushing on the queenside as black ? How on earth are you getting frenchs out of the Kan , unless white plays the alapin that is almost impossible . In any case , you should probably stop thinking about the opening and improve your actual playing strength , then you will see that these openings are not passive like you thought .