French Defence
French Defence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from
French opening)
The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
-
1. e4 e6
The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages. Black often gains counterattacking possibilities on the queenside while White tends to concentrate on the kingside.
Basics
Following the opening moves 1.e4 e6, the game usually continues 2.d4 d5 (see below for alternatives). White expands their claim on the centre, while Black immediately challenges the pawn on e4.
White has several main options—he can defend it with 3.Nc3 or 3.Nd2, exchange with 3.exd5, or advance the pawn with 3.e5, which leads to different types of positions. Note that 3.Bd3 allows 3...dxe4 4.Bxe4 Nf6, after which White must either concede to Black either a tempo or the advantage of the two bishops.
General themes
See the diagram for the pawn structure most typical of the French. Black has more space on the queenside, so tends to focus on that side of the board, almost always playing ...c7–c5 at some point to attack White's pawn chain at its base, and may follow up by advancing his a- and b-pawns.
Alternatively or simultaneously, Black will play against White's centre, which is cramping his position. The flank attack ...c7–c5 is usually insufficient to achieve this, so Black will often play ...f7–f6. If White supports the pawn on e5 by playing f2–f4, then Black has two common ideas. Black may strike directly at the f-pawn by playing ...g7–g5. The pawn on g5 may also threaten to advance to g4 to drive away a white knight on f3, augmenting Black's play against the White centre. Another idea is to play ...fxe5, and if White recaptures with fxe5, then Black gains an open f-file for his rook. Then, as White usually has a knight on f3 guarding his pawns on d4 and e5, Black may sacrifice the exchange with ...Rxf3 to destroy the white centre and attack the king. On the other hand, if White plays dxe5, then the a7–g1 diagonal is opened, making it less desirable for White to castle kingside.
White usually tries to exploit his extra space on the kingside, where he will often play for a mating attack. White tries to do this in the Alekhine–Chatard attack, for example. Another example is the following line of the Classical French: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 0-0 8.Nf3 c5 9.Bd3 (see diagram). White's light-square bishop eyes the weak h7-pawn, which is usually defended by a knight on f6 but here it has been pushed away by e5. A typical way for White to continue his attack is 9...cxd4 10.Bxh7+ Kxh7 11.Ng5+ when Black must give up his queen to avoid being mated, continuing with 11...Qxg5 12.fxg5 dxc3. Black has three minor pieces for the queen, which gives him a slight material superiority, but his king is vulnerable and White has good attacking chances.
Apart from a piece attack, White may play for the advance of his kingside pawns (an especially common idea in the endgame), which usually involves f2–f4, g2–g4 and then f4–f5 to utilise his natural spatial advantage on that side of the board. A white pawn on f5 can be very strong as it may threaten to capture on e6 or advance to f6. Sometimes pushing the h-pawn to h5 or h6 may also be effective. A modern idea is for White to gain space on the queenside by playing a2–a3 and b2–b4. If implemented successfully, this will further restrict Black's pieces.
One of the drawbacks of the French Defence for Black is his queen's bishop, which is blocked in by his pawn on e6. If Black is unable to free it by means of the pawn breaks ...c5 and/or ...f6, it can remain passive throughout the game. An often-cited example of the potential weakness of this bishop is S. Tarrasch–R. Teichmann, San Sebastián 1912, in which the diagrammed position was reached after fifteen moves of a Classical French.
Here Black is reduced to complete passivity. His light-square bishop is hemmed in by pawns on a6, b5, d5, e6 and f7. White will probably try to exchange Black's knight, which is the only one of his pieces that has any scope. Although it might be possible for Black to hold on for a draw, it is not easy and, barring any mistakes by White, Black will have few chances to create counterplay, which is why, for many years, the classical lines fell out of favour, and 3...Bb4 began to be seen more frequently after World War I, due to the efforts of Nimzowitsch and Botvinnik. In Tarrasch–Teichmann, White won after 41 moves. In order to avoid this fate, Black usually makes it a priority early in the game to find a useful post for the bishop. Black can play ...Bd7–a4 to attack a pawn on c2, which occurs in many lines of the Winawer Variation. If Black's f-pawn has moved to f6, then Black may also consider bringing the bishop to g6 or h5 via d7 and e8. If White's light-square bishop is on the f1–a6 diagonal, Black can try to exchange it by playing ...b6 and ...Ba6, or ...Qb6 followed by ...Bd7–Bb5.
A general theme in the Advance French is that White would like to put his light-square bishop on d3, maximising its scope. White cannot play this move immediately after 5...Qb6 without losing the d4 pawn. Black cannot gain the extra pawn immediately since 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Nxd4? 8.Nxd4 Qxd4?? 9.Bb5+ wins the black queen by a discovered attack with check. Thus, theory holds that Black should play 7...Bd7 instead to obviate this idea. White has often sacrificed the d-pawn anyway by continuing 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.Nc3. This is the Milner-Barry Gambit, named after Sir Stuart Milner-Barry, considered of marginal soundness by present-day theory, and has never had proponents at the highest levels of play.
Another theme is that White wants to expand on the kingside and attack the black king; the long-term advantages in many French structures lie with Black, so White is often more or less forced to attack by various methods, such as driving the black knight off f5 with g4 or playing h4–h5 to expel the knight from g6. Because of the blocked centre, sacrificial mating attacks are often possible. It is said by French players that the classic bishop sacrifice (Bd3xh7) should be evaluated every move. Black, however, often welcomes an attack as the French is notorious for producing stunning defensive tactics and maneuvers that leave Black up material for an endgame. Viktor Korchnoi who, along with Botvinnik, was the strongest player who advocated the French, talked about how he would psychologically lure his opponents into attacking him so that they would eventually sacrifice material and he would halt his opponent's army and win the endgame easily.
| Author: | Bling King |
| Published: | Mar 21st 2013 |
| Modified: | Mar 21st 2013 |
