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French Defence for black

French Defence for black

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Originally posted by smrex13
In addition to being a fascinating defense that you can play for life, the French is also a very diverse opening. Just a quick comparison with the Caro Kann illustrates this. In the Caro after 3.Nc3 or 3.Nd2, you really only have the move dxe. In the French, these moves open up a world of fascinating lines - Winawer, Burn, Classical, Tarrasch, McCutcheon, ange can be boring, but reaching equality on move three isn't so bad, I guess.

Best,
Scott
And another reason to play it is that then you will know how to play against it and it won't drive you insane when you are white.

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One thing I would advise is to try and understand when the f7-f6 pawn break is necessary. It's an ugly move but essential in some positions if you are to keep Black's chances alive.[/b]
So very true!!!

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Originally posted by skims
hello. I wondered what people's views were on the French defence for black are?

Is it too passive? Does black have any hope of making use of the bad bishop?

I am new to the opening, so if anybody has any lines or key ideas/moves they would like to recommend, I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Skims 😀
its ok, often the passivty leads to strong counter chances, also it often helps to get a knight on f5 (via Nh6 then Nf5 or if the c pawn is exchanged already, then Ne7 Nf5 is a little safer), supporting the attack on d4

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I played french for about 2-3 years, I had good results (>55-60😵 even I did not know exactly all the variations.
It is very easy to loose with french if you do not have a good understanding of the ideas but if you do it is good.
Some variations are really "passive".
dimis

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I'm curious, how does the French compare to the Sicilian? Which one is considered objectively best.

They seem to score about equally and are both popular at the highest levels. I only notice that chess engines hate the Sicilian and think the French is a lot better. But what do they know about openings?

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There is a lot of fashion at the lofty levels of GM play. Just look at the Classical Dutch vs the Kings Indian. Both aggressive counter-attacking answers to 1. d4 yet the former is hardly played.

With regards to the French vs the Sicilian, my perception is that the Sicilian is far more popular but I doubt that this is for any particular reason as the french is very sound and can provide counter-attacking chances for the second player.

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Originally posted by UmbrageOfSnow
Pick up a copy of John Watson's Play the French. It is an excellent book on the opening, far better than any other book on an opening that I have looked at.

One big mistake a lot of beginers make is moving Nc6. DON'T DO THIS. Playing c5 is vital in the French.
That book comes highly recommended by everyone I know who owns it. One disclaimer is that it's from 2003 so if you play any masters, they will probably have some improved variations against the lines listed. At our level, I'm sure it's perfectly playable.

Nc6 before c5.... is generally a bad idea. That said, there are offshoots where this is indeed played. but they are sidelines, not the main theory. i.e. I in the Be7 line of the tarrasch, Nc6 is playable, but white generally retains an edge.

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Bd3 Nc6


Some examples can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/nf/chess/Romanishin.html (not in pgn format)


Finally, I want to say that the fat lady is absolutly correct. Knowing when to play and when not to play f6 is very important. I make many mistakes about that.