French defence

The French Defence with 2.Nc3 arises after 1.e4 e6 2.Nc3. ECO code: C00.

White develops the knight before d4. After 2...d5, 3.d4 transposes into the Classical/Winawer complex. The move order prevents 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 (Winawer) from being possible without White's knowledge, as White can choose 3.Nf3 instead.