French Defense

1. 1

   Strike the centre from move two

   1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5

   Black does not contest e4 directly; instead ...e6 first supports an immediate ...d5, hitting White's centre with a pawn that is itself defended by the e6 pawn. Whatever White does next — push, trade, or defend with a knight — shapes the whole game.

2. 2

   The problem bishop

   1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6

   The pawn on e6 that supported ...d5 also walls in Black's own light-squared bishop on c8. Nearly every French plan for Black — ...b6 and ...Ba6, ...Bd7 heading to a4, or trading it off early with ...dxe4 lines — is really about solving this one problem piece.

3. 3

   Advance Variation: the centre locks

   1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5

   White gains space but the e5 pawn is now fixed and can become a target. Black hits the other end of the chain with ...c5 at once: the base of White's pawn chain is d4, and Black's whole plan is to attack it before White can support it fully.

4. 4

   Closed centre: the ...f6 break

   10.O-O-O a6 11.Nb3 Bb4 12.Bd3 f6

   Once White's pawn chain is fixed on e5 (in the Advance, Steinitz and Tarrasch structures), Black strikes at its head with ...f6. The timing matters: the break works once Black's pieces are developed and the king is castled, as here, where the e5 pawn has to be exchanged and Black's pieces get open lines. Played too early, before development, ...f6 only weakens e6.

5. 5

   Exchange Variation: symmetry with a plan

   1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5

   Considered drawish by reputation, but both sides can still fight: White tries c4 and pressure on the isolated or hanging d5 pawn, Black develops naturally and looks for piece activity or a minority attack of their own. Symmetric pawns do not mean a symmetric plan.

6. 6

   Winawer: pawns for pieces

   3...Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3

   Black trades the dark-squared bishop for a knight, permanently doubling White's c-pawns. In return White gets the bishop pair and, after 6...Ne7 7.Qg4, an immediate attack on g7. This is the sharpest and most double-edged of all French main lines: Black's queenside pawns are a long-term target, but White's structure is compromised for good.

7. 7

   Classical/Steinitz: the knight retreats to advance

   4...Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3

   The f6 knight steps back to d7 rather than trade on e4, keeping the position closed and preparing ...c5 and ...f6 exactly as in the Advance Variation, but with a knight already developed to c3. White's typical plan is Qd2, O-O-O and a kingside pawn storm with f4–f5.

These are the patterns worth knowing. For the full count, see the French Defense mistakes players make most often at each rating.

1. 1

   White: the kingside pawn storm

   8...b5 9.a3 Be7 10.Bd3 O-O 11.h4

   With the centre locked, White throws the kingside pawns forward (h4-h5, f4-f5 or g4-g5) to attack Black's king before the queenside counterplay arrives. Black answers on the queenside with ...b5-b4, ...Qb6 and ...Nc6-a5-c4. Once Black's pawns are already on b5, castling long only gives Black a target, so White often keeps the king in the centre and attacks with pawns first.

2. 2

   Black: the ...c5 and ...f6 breaks

   10.O-O-O a6 11.Nb3 Bb4 12.Bd3 f6

   Against any locked French structure, Black's plan is fixed: first undermine the base of the chain with ...c5 and pressure d4, then, with the pieces developed and the king safe, strike the head of the chain with ...f6. If the centre collapses, Black's better-placed pieces take over; if White holds firm, the extra space still favours White in the long run, so the breaks are not optional.

3. 3

   Black: solving the light-squared bishop

   6.Be2 Nge7 7.O-O Nf5 8.Na3 Rc8

   The c8 bishop has no good diagonal while the e6 pawn stays put, so Black routes it via d7 towards a4 or b5, trading it for a knight, rather than leaving it as a permanent spectator. In other lines Black instead plays an early ...b6 and ...Ba6 to hit a pinned or exposed piece on f1/d3. Every French plan for Black solves this piece one way or another.

4. 4

   White: the bishop pair and dark squares in the Winawer

   7.a4 Qa5 8.Bd2 Nbc6 9.Nf3 Bd7

   Once the dark-squared bishops are traded off, White's remaining bishop and the doubled c-pawns' extra central control give lasting positional trumps: the a4–d1 diagonal, the c1 bishop's future on a3 or b4, and pressure against Black's weak queenside pawns in any endgame. Black's compensation (extra central pawns, a target on c3/a3) has to be used actively before it becomes irrelevant.

5. 5

   Exchange Variation: the minority attack

   6...Nf6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O Re8 9.Bg5

   White uses the extra queenside pawn majority (a,b,c vs a,b after ...c6) to push b4–b5, trading off Black's c-pawn and leaving a weak d5 or c6 pawn behind. Black meets it with active piece play — ...Bg4, ...Ne4, ...Qd6 — rather than passively waiting, since the structure alone slightly favours White.