French defense

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	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

The basic position of the French defense after 1.… e7 – e6

The French Defense is an opening of the game of chess . The sequence of moves is one of the semi-open games and is classified in the ECO codes under the keys C00 to C19.

The basic position of the French defense arises according to the moves:

1. e2 – e4 e7 – e6

Naming

The name of the French Defense dates back to 1834. In the middle of a correspondence chess competition between a London team and one from Paris , the French responded to the opening move 1. e2 – e4 made by the Londoners with the move 1.… e7 -E6 and won the game.

Main variants

The main variants of the French defense are after

2. d2-d4 d7-d5

• Advance variant : 3. e4 – e5
• Exchange variant : 3. e4xd5 e6xd5
• Classic system : 3. Nb1 – c3 Ng8 – f6
  • Main variation: 4. Bc1 – g5 Bf8 – e7 5. e4 – e5 Nf6 – d7 6. Bg5xe7 Qd8xe7
  • Alekhine Chatard attack : 4. Bc1 – g5 Bf8 – e7 5. e4 – e5 Nf6 – d7 6. h2 – h4, a sharp Gambit variant.
  • MacCutcheon variant : 4. Bc1 – g5 Bf8 – b4: This variant is named after the strong amateur John Lindsay McCutcheon (born May 28, 1857 - July 17, 1905 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania), who played this sequence for the first time in a simultaneous game Wilhelm Steinitz played in New York in 1885.
  • Steinitz variant: 4. e4 – e5
• Winawer variant : 3. Nb1 – c3 Bf8 – b4
• Rubinstein variant : 3. Nb1 – c3 d5xe4: This variant is named after Akiba Rubinstein and can also arise from the move orders 3. Nb1 – d2 d5xe4 or 3. Nb1 – c3 Ng8 – f6 4. Bc1 – g5 dxe4. According to Siegbert Tarrasch's opening theory, capturing the e-pawn in this variant used to be considered disadvantageous because it would cause Black to lose his hold in the center . The modern masters no longer see it so dogmatically. The variant has been played many times by world class grandmasters such as Viswanathan Anand and Evgeny Bareev , who are ready to fight for equalization even in a more passive position. 4. Nxe4 Bc8 – d7 along with Bd7 – c6 and swapping Bc6 for a white minor piece is called the Fort Knox variant. Black then takes on the pawn structure of the Caro-Kann main line through c7 – c6 and takes a wait-and-see attitude.

• Variant of Tarrasch : 3. Nb1 – d2

Rarer lines

• Hecht-Reefschläger variant: 3. Nb1 – c3 Nb8 – c6 This variant is named after Hans-Joachim Hecht and Helmut Reefschläger . Pál Benkő tried it before . John Watson recommends after 4. e4 – e5 f7 – f6 5. Bf1 – b5 Bc8 – d7 and then use the maneuver Qd8 – e7 – f7 to prepare both long castling and the opening of the f-file.
• Franco-Benoni results after 2. d2 – d4 c7 – c5 3. d4 – d5
• Franco-Polish: 2. d2 – d4 b7 – b5? 3. Bf1xb5 Bc8-b7 4. f2-f3 Qd8-h4 + 5. g2-g3 Qh4-h5
• "Kingston Defense": 2. d2 – d4 f7 – f5 ?!
• The “Mediterranean Defense” 2. d2 – d4 Ng8 – f6 ?! is after 3. e4 – e5 Nf6 – d5 4. Ng1 – f3 an insignificant variant of the Alekhine defense
• King's Indian attack : 2. d2 – d3 d7 – d5 3. Nb1 – d2
• The Chigorin variant 2. Qd1 – e2 is similar to the King's Indian attack.
• The Réti gambit intends to continue after 2. b2 – b3 d7 – d5 3. Bc1 – b2 on 3.… d5xe4 with 4. Nb1 – c3 Ng8 – f6 5. Qd1 – e2 or 5. g2 – g4.
• The Alapin-Diemer Gambit: 2. d2 – d4 d7 – d5 3. Bc1 – e3 ?! (named after Simon Alapin and Emil Joseph Diemer )
• and the Diemer-Duhm Gambit 2. d2 – d4 d7 – d5 3. c2 – c4 ?! are in the spirit of the Blackmar Diemer Gambit .
• The French Grand Gambit 2. Ng1 – f3 d7 – d5 3. e4 – e5 c7 – c5 4. b2 – b4 c5xb4 is related to the advance variant . After 5. d2 – d4 Black can avoid a ball of his pieces on the kingside with 5.… Ng8 – e7 together with Ne7 – c6, Nb8 – d7. After 5. a2 – a3 Black can use Qd8 – a5 to prepare the exchange of his c8-bishop via Bd7 – b5.
• After 3. Nb1 – c3 it was c7 – c5 ?! Marshall's favorite move for Black, who because of 4. e4xd5! e6xd5 5. d4xc5 d5 – d4 6. Bf1 – b5 +! Nb8 – c6 7. Bb5xc6 + b7xc6 8. Nc3 – e2 Bf8xc5 9. Ng1 – f3 Bc5 – b4 + 10. Bc1 – d2 Bb4xd2 + 11. Qd1xd2 c6 – c5 12. 0–0–0 Ng8 – f6 13. Qd2 – g5 with a double attack is no longer played on c5 and g7.

meaning

Until the middle of the 19th century, the French defense (just like the opening most played today, the Sicilian defense ) was considered inferior and, in the eyes of many chess players, was just an attempt to overcome the already extensive jungle of variants of the open games after 1. e2– e4 e7 – e5 avoiding the path. A chess opening textbook by Paul Rudolph von Bilguer from 1843 describes the first opening moves within the French defense. In the variants after 1. e2 – e4 e7 – e6 2. d2 – d4 d7 – d5, however, only two continuation options for the White player were listed, 3. e4xd5 or e4 – e5. According to Géza Maróczy, the first person to use the move 3. Nb1 – c3 was the German master Louis Paulsen .

In the meantime, after 1.… c7 – c5 ( Sicilian defense ) and 1.… e7 – e5 ( open games ) before the Caro-Kann opening , the French defense has long been the third most frequent answer to the most frequently played opening move 1. e2 – e4.

Famous chess players who play or played the French defense with the black pieces are Ulf Andersson , Michail Botwinnik , David Bronstein , Viktor Kortschnoi , Tigran Petrosjan , Nigel Short , Jan Timman , Wolfgang Uhlmann , Rafael Vaganian , Robert Hübner , Michail Gurewitsch and Alexei Drejew .

literature

• Lew Psachis : Advance and other anti-French variations . Batsford, London 2003, ISBN 0-7134-8843-3 .
• Lev Psachis: French defense 3 Nd2 . Batsford, London 2003, ISBN 0-7134-8825-5 .
• Lew Psachis: French defense 3 Nc3 Bb4 . Batsford, London 2003, ISBN 0-7134-8841-7 .
• Lew Psachis: French defense: Steinitz, classical and other systems . Batsford, London 2004, ISBN 0-7134-8941-3 .
• Wolfgang Uhlmann: French ... played right - French for a lifetime . Beyer, 2004, ISBN 3-88805-271-8 .
• John L. Watson: Play the French . Everyman Chess, 4th edition. 2012, ISBN 978-1-85744-680-7 .