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French Defense
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1.e4 e6

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6

a b c d e f g h

f # , …
ᾕΩ¤"¥

The French Defense is one of the most popular Black

responses to 1.e4. It has consistently been a part of
masters' repertoire since the 1800s and one of the
favorites of positional players. Usually leading to
slower games, this opening is a good choice for
players of all levels.

Starting Position
Pros
Cons

Variations
Tarrasch Variation
Winawer Variation
Classical French
Advance Variation
Exchange Variation

How To Play Against The French Defense

Tarrasch Variation
Advance Variation

History Of The French Defense

Famous Games
Conclusion

Starting Position

The French Defense starts after 1.e4 e6. Black's

move by prepares the d7-d5 push to challenge
White's center immediately. 1...e6 also opens lines for
Black's dark-squared bishop and queen, an
advantage over the Caro-Kann and Slav Defense
(where Black also plays for the d7-d5 push).

222½2
⻜

是是

2½ 2
H The starting position of the French Defense.

The downside to 1...e6 is that Black imprisons their

light-squared bishop, something that doesn't happen
in the Caro or Slav.

The French Defense usually leads to closed, slow

games, where piece maneuvering and pawn breaks
are of the utmost importance.

Pros

Solid and sound structure

Sharp counterattacking possibilities
Easy to learn

Cons

Black has a space disadvantage

Black's light-squared bishop is locked in
Can become passive

Variations

Like many other classical openings that have been

around for a long time, the French Defense has a lot
of theory behind it. Below you can read about the
most popular variations of this opening:

Tarrasch Variation

The Tarrasch is one of the most popular variations of

the French, and it starts after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5
3.Nd2. White's 3.Nd2 avoids the pin on the knight
after Black's common 3...Bb4 (Winawer Variation,
discussed below). White opts for a more solid
approach to face the French, aiming for a slight but
safe advantage.

a b c d e f g h

t J # , … @
1. e4 e6

2. d4 d5

3. Nd2

Winawer Variation

Another variation that enjoys much popularity, the

Winawer starts with the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5
3.Nc3 Bb4. Black plays for positional imbalances,
usually exchanging the dark-squared bishop for the
c3-knight. After that, White will have the choice of
playing either a tactical or a more positional game.
These are the trickiest and most tactical lines in the
French Defense.

Classical French

The Classical French was the most popular way to

respond to the French at the beginning of the 20th
century. White would play for a strong center with the
f2-f4 push, sometimes followed up by long castling
and expansion on the kingside. The Classical French
occurs after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5.

Advance Variation

The game enters the Advance variation after the

moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5. This line usually
involves a positional struggle in closed positions,
where White will try to play on the kingside, and Black
will play on the queenside.

Exchange Variation

The Exchange Variation of the French happens after

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5. This continuation results in
an equal position, giving this line the reputation of
being drawish. In fact, most of the games do end in
draws, with Black having a slight edge over White in
decisive games.

How To Play Against The French Defense

The well-prepared White player should score well

against the French Defense. Most of the popular lines
in this opening have White winning or drawing most
of the games. The variations below show promising
results for White.

Tarrasch Variation

The Tarrasch Variation scores well against the French

Defense, with White winning 42%, drawing 30%, and
losing 28%. The White player can develop sensibly
and use their central pawn wedge to their favor. White
avoids the Winawer lines and is prepared for a semi-
open or fully open position.

Advance Variation

If you enjoy playing closed positions, the Advance

Variation is a good pick for you. White's 3.e5 shuts
down the center immediately. White's pawn chain will
lead them to attack on the kingside, while Black will
go for queenside activity. White outscores Black in
these lines, which generally lead to tense
maneuvering positions.

History Of The French Defense

The French Defense is one of the oldest openings in

chess. The opening's name comes from an 1834
correspondence game between the London Chess
Club and the Paris Chess Club. Although it has never
surpassed other openings as Black's primary
response to 1.e4, the French Defense has always
been present in top games.

Some of the strongest players in history have

included the French Defense in their repertoire. Akiba
Rubinstein, Aron Nimzowitsch, GM Mikhail Botvinnik,
GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Viktor Korchnoi, and GM
Wolfgang Uhlmann were a few of the top players of
the past who played the French regularly.
Contemporary grandmasters who also make
consistent use of this opening include Evgeny Bareev
and Alexander Morozevich.

Famous Games

London Chess Club vs. Paris Chess Club, 1834

Fischer vs. Uhlmann, 1960

Korchnoi vs. Udovcic, 1967

Conclusion

You now know what the French Defense is, how to

play it, counter it, its history, and more. Head over to
our Master Games page to study how the greats
handle this opening to get even better at it!

Less >

ἠ Lesson

Learn The French Defense With 3.Nc3

J 22 min χ 10 Challenges

’ Notable Game

Garry Kasparov (2827) vs. Viktor Korchnoi

(2643)
1-0 | Korchnoi Birthday KO / Zurich SUI / 29 Apr 2001
| Round: 1.1 | ECO: C13

t J # , … @
1. e4 e6

2. d4 d5

3. Nc3 Nf6

4. Bg5 Be7

ϻ Top Players

Alexander Fabiano Caruana

Grischuk 231 games
284 games

Viktor Korchnoi Nigel Short

557 games 438 games

Evgeny Bareev
329 games

J Related Content

J J
' 24 min '

Comments Sort: Newest

Newest <

Thomas_Jackson

8 hours ago }0{

My favourite defense.

Fish_As

20 days ago }0{

that's great

JasperXu

21 days ago }0{

“nostaplac
a
yo i just invented an insane gambit from
the advance-f6 variation... does this work
wrote:aaa chat?

ScrabbleCat

27 days ago }0{

French defense goes boom

rmontalvo

Mar 24, 2024 }0{

I've played the same opening french defense for
12 years since I started playing chess in 2012 when i was
learning how to play, now 2024 my rating is low but i've
gotten better over the years mainly the games I've played is
1 min chess at least I learn to think fast and make quicker
decision making skills which is not easy to accomplished.
I've played over 2,000 games through out the years.

KevTheChessMLG

Mar 20, 2024 }0{

French Defence is useful when you have skill with
knights, sacrifices and gambits

austin13091

Mar 20, 2024 }0{

“ BMTTG wrote:
hehe tôi đã có cách phang thằng bạn

do not put this in google translate

austin13091

Mar 20, 2024 }0{

meh

Shreyansharma11

Mar 16, 2024 }0{

“ BMTTG wrote:
sorry but i dont like this

user_7356835824572

Mar 9, 2024 }0{

I don't like to play against this defense

I like the Caro

fatpochino

Mar 4, 2024 }0{

Nice

BMTTG

Mar 2, 2024 }0{

hehe tôi đã có cách phang thằng bạn

Theoliver17

Feb 23, 2024 }0{

caca

Lexianne_Brila

Feb 19, 2024 }0{

“ Rufan2015 wrote:
R

I like this checkmate

hellolmnotgay

Feb 14, 2024 }0{

woww

GMchessminator

Feb 13, 2024 }0{

Interesting

ChessTactician_1006

Feb 12, 2024 }0{

“ nostaplaca wrote:
yo i just invented an insane gambit from the advance-
f6 variation... does this work chat?

Its very creative and may work if you are prepared. The
problem is no one plays f6 unless they dont know how to
play the French. c5 is a more common response and you are
prob never gonna face f6.
 extremelybadchessplayer12

Feb 10, 2024 }0{

mae

M4ciek027

Feb 5, 2024 }0{

fajnie

Rufan2015

Feb 4, 2024 }0{

R

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