Games - French Defence

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	Games - French Defence

The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the opening moves (see algebraic notation):

:1.e4 e6, typically followed by :2.d4 d5

giving the position at right.

The defence 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.

The defence is named after a match played by correspondence between the cities of London and Paris in 1834 (although earlier examples of games with the opening do exist). In the early 20th century, Géza Maróczy was perhaps the first world-class player to make it his primary weapon against 1.e4. It is currently Black's third most popular reply to 1.e4, behind only 1...c5 and 1...e5. Players including Viktor Korchnoi, Mikhail Botvinnik, Wolfgang Uhlmann and Nigel Short have been particularly fond of it. More recently, the defence has featured strongly in the opening repertoires of Evgeny Bareev, Alexander Khalifman, Alexander Morozevich, and Teimour Radjabov.

Following the opening moves 1.e4 e6, the game usually continues 2.d4 d5. White expands his claim on the centre, while Black immediately challenges the pawn on e4. White has several main options — he can exchange pawns with 3.exd5 exd5, he can push the pawn forward with 3.e5, or he can defend it with 3.Nd2 or 3.Nc3.

General considerations

The diagram on the left displays the pawn structure most typical of the French Defence. Black has more space on the queenside (see chess terminology) so tends to focus on that side of the board. He almost always plays ...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 may try to break down White's centre, which is cramping his position. Usually playing ...c7-c5 is not enough 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. Or, he may play ...fxe5, and if White recaptures with the f-pawn 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 further undermine the white centre. On the other hand, if White plays dxe5 then the a7-g1 diagonal is opened, making it less desirable for White to castle kingside. Sometimes, if White is underdeveloped and his king is still in the centre, Black may sacrifice a piece on e5 to destroy White's centre totally and begin an attack.

White usually tries to exploit his extra space on the kingside where he can sometimes create 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 right)

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 with 11...Qxg5 12.fxg5 dxc3. Black has three minor pieces for the queen, which in theory is a straight swap, 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. 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 restrict Black's pieces even more.

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