French Defense
11 Jun '07 13:141 editHere is the info that I sent to Dutch after he messaged me if anyone else is interested.... Note of course that much of this is very general or may be my opinion; there are certainly other ways to play the defense. It is probably worth studying Weyerstrass' games (User 91723) which have a totally different character than most of the sub-2000 players who play the french.
Any idea which you want to play, or at least the more tactical or positional ones? In general after
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
White has three primary responses
3. Nc3 which is best according to theory and is very popular at GM level. Black can enter the classical line Nf6, e5, Nfd7 when he will play c5 to attack whites pawn chain. or he can play 3... Bb4 the Winawer which can be as complicated or positional as white chooses. I prefer the winawer as there are far more imbalances, though the positional lines tend to be rather more difficult to handle than the all out attacks based around Qg4.
3. Nd7 the tarrasch, in my mind whites best answer. He often can play e5, c3, Ndf3 and Ne7 completely securing his pawn chain but black has options. 3... Nf6 is similar to the classical line on the 3. Nc3 and is the most sound. IF you want to play open games, 3... c5 is for you. With good play, white maintains the initiative and a lead in development, so I gave that up in favor of Nf6.
3. e5 is the advance I see it more than anything else. BLack has tons of options which are based around attacking d4 with c5, Nc6, Qb6 etc and when the time is right also attacking the head of the pawn chain with f6. I prefer the line
3. e5 c5 4. c3 (if Nf3, cxd4, Nxd4, Nc6 is excellent for black) Nc6 5. Be2(among many options) Bd7 (Qb6 is quite common).
Other move orders are possible. Let me know if you have any specific questions. I would also be willing to play a practice or training game if you're interested.
As an odd side note, while I still enjoy the french, I am picking up the petrov in order to reach different middlegames.
Any idea which you want to play, or at least the more tactical or positional ones? In general after
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
White has three primary responses
3. Nc3 which is best according to theory and is very popular at GM level. Black can enter the classical line Nf6, e5, Nfd7 when he will play c5 to attack whites pawn chain. or he can play 3... Bb4 the Winawer which can be as complicated or positional as white chooses. I prefer the winawer as there are far more imbalances, though the positional lines tend to be rather more difficult to handle than the all out attacks based around Qg4.
3. Nd7 the tarrasch, in my mind whites best answer. He often can play e5, c3, Ndf3 and Ne7 completely securing his pawn chain but black has options. 3... Nf6 is similar to the classical line on the 3. Nc3 and is the most sound. IF you want to play open games, 3... c5 is for you. With good play, white maintains the initiative and a lead in development, so I gave that up in favor of Nf6.
3. e5 is the advance I see it more than anything else. BLack has tons of options which are based around attacking d4 with c5, Nc6, Qb6 etc and when the time is right also attacking the head of the pawn chain with f6. I prefer the line
3. e5 c5 4. c3 (if Nf3, cxd4, Nxd4, Nc6 is excellent for black) Nc6 5. Be2(among many options) Bd7 (Qb6 is quite common).
Other move orders are possible. Let me know if you have any specific questions. I would also be willing to play a practice or training game if you're interested.
As an odd side note, while I still enjoy the french, I am picking up the petrov in order to reach different middlegames.
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