Greetings, Chess Fans! Awesome to see you again!

Blog Overview:

Introduction

The French Defence

Playing the French Defence

My Personal Tips for Playing the French Defence

The Italian Defence

Playing the Italian Defence

My Personal Tips for Playing the Italian Defence

Choosing Between the French and Italian Defence

My Choice Between the French and Italian Defence

Conclusion and Further Mentions

Introduction

If you have been looking for a solid response to e4 with something other than the Sicilian defence, which is so popular that it deserves its own blog post, then you might have considered playing either the French defence or the Italian defence.

And that's what we are doing today! We will be looking at the French Defence vs. the Italian Defence: The ultimate battle of wits and pawns.

Both the French Defence and the Italian Defence are very popular openings and have been played by some of the greatest chess players in history. But what are the main differences between them and how can you choose the one that best suits your style?

The French Defence.

The French defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves e4 followed by e6, d4 and d5. Black’s idea is to challenge White’s center then create a strong and supported pawn chain on the dark squares.

The French defence is known for being solid but somewhat passive, as Black often has to deal with a bad light-squared bishop and a lack of space on the queenside. 

But black does have some advantages, such as an awesome plan of counterattack on the kingside or perhaps in the center, and even a resilient pawn structure that can withstand White’s pressure. Wow!

The French defence is divided into four major variations, depending on how White defends the e4 pawn:

The Advance Variation: 3. e5
The Exchange Variation: 3. exd5
The Tarrasch Variation: 3. Nd2
...and... The Main Line: 3. Nc3

In theory, the French Defence seems like a brilliant attack. But how about in practice? Let's see how I do in online matches.

Playing the French Defence(In open-seek online matches)

Alright, I am not sure if I would say that the French Defence paid off yet, because my opponent kept on making blunders.

Let's hop into another online match and see if we can learn anything else from the French Defence...

My Personal Tips for Playing the French Defence

While you have the French Defence in action, if white were to decide on d4 after you play e6, then I would recommend to simply advance your pawn to d5. There are countless (actually five) variations of the French Defence, so you would need to look in detail into them before attempting to play them.

Or you can do what I do sometimes, wing it then hope for the best.

Going back through my years of Chess experience, I will admit that I never really played the French very often. Although recently, especially with practice from those previous games, the French Defence does seem to be a very powerful response to e4.

If you have not yet, definitely give the French Defence a try. For sure I will practice it more!

But what about...

Italian?

The Italian Defence.

The Italian Defence another chess opening, a popular one, too.

The Italian Defence starts off with the move e4, then e5, followed by Nf3, Nc6, then arriving at Bc4. White’s scheme is to develop his bishop to c4 and target Black’s weak f7 pawn - the weakest point in Black’s position.

The Italian Defence is popular for being open and dynamic, as both sides can castle quickly and have the power to launch attacks. But at the same time, the Italian Defence is also very flexible. Both sides have many options to break off from the main lines and create their own plans...

The Italian defence is divided into three major categories, depending on Black’s third move:

The Hungarian Defence: 3. Be7
The Two Knights Defence: 3. Nf6
...and probably my favourite, The Giuoco Piano: 3. Bc5

Just looking at it, the Italian Defence seems like a straightforward and easy attack. But is it true? (I think we know that "yes" is more then likely)

Anyway.

Let's see how I do while playing online matches...

Playing the Italian Defence(In open-seek online matches)

That game could have been worse for me. Both sides were fairly matched until my opponent shipped me his rook.

I have had a lot of experience with the Italian opening. I still play it a lot, even to this date.

So, for our next game with the Italian Defence, I decided to have some fun and do something a little bit different. I sent a challenge my friend, @OmarVahidov (he is a great guy, you should play him some day) who has almost 400 more rating then I do.

How will I do against him with the Italian Defence?

My Personal Tips for Playing the Italian Defence

As we have (probably) learned from the last game, you can never have too much practice. I say that mostly because I have been using the Italian Defence for years and... well, I guess I still am not an Italian professional. Unless you count me playing Mario Kart.

In my opinion, the Italian defence is one of the easier openings (that's why I like the Italian), anybody can learn it, even if you are new to chess.

What I would do in the Italian Defence is follow along normally, then try to castle as soon as possible. Next I would look for any sort of potential tactics.

...and remember to attack the center of the board. I find it especially fun chasing away minor pieces, but that's me.

Choosing Between the French and Italian Defence

Choosing between the French defence and the Italian defence is not an easy task, as both of them have their pros and cons.

Ultimately, it depends on your personal preference and style of play. Here are some factors to consider before you know which defence is better for you:

Do you prefer closed or open positions?

Do you prefer positional or tactical play?

Do you prefer simple or complex pawn structures?

Do you mind having a bad bishop or a weak pawn?

Do you like attacking or defending?

Do you like cheese or pasta?

If you chose closed positions, positional play, simple pawn structures, defending, and if you don’t mind having a bad bishop or a weak pawn, then... congratulations! You must like cheese and enjoy playing the French Defence!

However, if you would rather choose open positions, tactical play, complex pawn structures, attacking, and you don’t like having a bad bishop or a weak pawn, then... you certainly like pasta and would enjoy playing the Italian defence!

Of course, these are generalizations, and there are exceptions to every rule. You might find some variations of the French defence that are more open and tactical than some variations of the Italian defence, or vice versa.

The best way to find out which one suits you better is to try them both in practice and see how you feel about them.

Or perhaps your tastes are different from Italian and French, just try the Sicilian defence.

You might also might be like me, and like both cheese and pasta...

My Choice Between the French and Italian Defence

Now, I do prefer open positions, tactical play, complex pawn structures, attacking, but I don't care about "bad bishops" or weak pawns. And you may have guessed, I like both cheese and pasta.

The French Defence is a close runner-up, but I have to choose the Italian Defence. I have just had so much more experience with it, even though I do enjoy the French Defence.

Conclusion and Further Mentions

The French defence and the Italian defence are two of the most popular chess openings against e4. They have different characteristics and require different skills and knowledge to play them well.

Choosing between them is a matter of your preference and style of play.

I hope this blog post has given you some insights into these two fascinating openings and helped you make an informed decision, or at least gave you a good laugh.

If you have any suggestions/requests/comments/questions, I would be thankful to you for posting down below!

If you have an issue or you spotted an error in this post (which is quite possible), send a private message to me @Admiral_ChessBeard!

Thanks for reading!