French defence

The French Defence arises after 1.e4 e6. ECO codes: C00–C19.

History

The French Defence emerged from a London–Paris correspondence match (1834–1836), with Jacques Chamouillet of Paris advocating for its adoption. Wilhelm Steinitz famously dismissed it as "the dullest of all openings," though it gained prominence in the 20th century through practitioners like Géza Maróczy. Today it ranks as the third most popular response to 1.e4, behind the Sicilian Defence and 1...e5.

Main Lines & Variations

After 2.d4 d5, the main variations are:

• 3.Nc3 Nf6 – The Classical Variation, including the Burn (4.Bg5 dxe4), McCutcheon (4.Bg5 Bb4), and Steinitz (4.e5) lines.

• 3.Nc3 Bb4 – The Winawer Variation, pioneered by Nimzowitsch and Botvinnik. The main line runs 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7.

• 3.Nd2 – The Tarrasch Variation, including the Open (3...c5), Closed (3...Nf6), and Morozevich (3...Be7) sub-variations.

• 3.e5 – The Advance Variation, revived in the 1980s by Evgeny Sveshnikov.

• 3.exd5 – The Exchange Variation.

• 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 – The Rubinstein Variation.

Key Positions

After 1.e4 e6 – Black prepares ...d5 with a solid pawn chain.

Strategic Themes & Plans

Black's pawn chain (d5–e6) provides a solid defensive structure but restricts the light-squared bishop (the "French bishop" ), which is often hemmed in behind its own pawns. Black typically seeks queenside counterplay with ...c5 and ...Nc6. White aims to exploit the kingside space advantage through f4–f5 and h-pawn advances. Historical practitioners include Mikhail Botvinnik, Viktor Korchnoi, and Akiba Rubinstein. Modern experts include Evgeny Bareev, Alexander Morozevich, and Ding Liren.