French Defense

The French Defense, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5, is a counterattacking defence. Black challenges e4 at once and accepts a closed position with a cramped light-squared bishop. White chooses between the Advance with 3.e5, the Winawer and Classical lines with 3.Nc3, the Tarrasch with 3.Nd2 and the symmetrical Exchange with 3.exd5.

Surprisingly, the most frequent mistakes in our data come from the quiet Exchange Variation. After 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4 c6 5.Nc3 Bd6, White develops with 6.Bg5?? and the bishop simply hangs: with the e7 square empty, the queen on d8 sees g5, and 6...Qxg5 wins a piece. In another Exchange line, 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.h3 Bf5, the move 6.Bc4?? puts the bishop where the d5 pawn takes it: 6...dxc4.

Pawn captures also decide the Rubinstein-style lines. After 1.d4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 Nf6 4.Be3 a6 5.f3 dxe4, the bishop move 6.Bd3?? walks onto a square the e4 pawn controls, and 6...exd3 wins it.

In the Tarrasch, 3.Nd2, the knight on d2 has an important job: defending e4. After 3...c5 4.c3 a6 5.Ne2 Nc6, moving it with 6.Nf3? gives up the pawn, and 6...dxe4 wins it with tempo on the knight. Black has a similar problem: after 3...a6 4.a4 Nc6 5.c3 the natural 5...Nf6? allows 6.e5, and the knight has to leave the kingside with material loss.

The French is a structural opening, but the puzzles below show that most real games are still decided by one-move tactics. The French Defense study covers the main lines and plans; the French Advance Variation has its own page with the typical mistakes around b2 and d4.