How to play the French Defense? Beginner Breakdown

In this article, we’re going to look at the French Defense which is a very solid opening for Black, but offers counter chances.

 The French Defense begins with the moves 1.e4 e6. White’s idea is that after the universal move 2.d4, Black would play 2…d5 and set up a stronghold for himself in the centre.

I like to think of the French Defense as a deep psychological strategy on Black’s part. Black goes ahead and he just accepts a modestly cramped game in exchange for some simpler strategic plans in a closed position. Black can comfortably play for his plans and avoid an early tactical battle, and he can also avoid a theoretical contest to see just who knows how much theory.

This is one reason why this opening is so popular with beginning and intermediate players. Let’s get acquainted with some of the charm of Black’s strategy. And to do that, we’re going to focus on the advanced variation which begins with the move 3.e5.

 Strategy in the Advanced Variation of the French

3.e5 is a reasonable reply to the French Defense. The only way White could have opened the game would have been to exchange the pawns on d5, but this has a reputation as being a very drawish structure because the pawns are asymmetrical, and things are very likely to be traded down the d-files here.

French Exchange (often slow and boring)

So, normally White doesn’t want to take on d5, so it’s very reasonable for him to at some point, advance his e pawn. Here, we’re going to look if White does it straight away.

Now that Black has induced White into playing pawn to e5, Black’s ready for the second stage of his plan which is to start laying seige to the centre. He wants to do that with breaks like, pawn c5 and pawn f6. He’s also going to want to combine pawn c5 with some piece pressure against the d4 pawn and see if he can crack down the light centre. The diagram below shows a typical formation which illustrates this idea:

 Now of course, White also has plans of his own. Since he has a space advantage, he can look to build up an attack on the kingside with moves like f4-f5. White can even sometimes find play on the queenside. At the same time, White is going to focus on maintaining the centre, and so it’s a big battle of plans here.  

 One thing is that Black’s pawns are a little easier to play, whereas White requires more finesse. Therefore, if White is a little bit less prepared, he can easily fall under attack in the centre or on the queenside.

Black also needs to stoically accept a few downsides in the French Defense. Black has used one of its pawns for passive defense on the third rank and this translates into a somewhat cramped position.

For e.g, Black’s light squared bishop on c8 looks very sickly compared to all the other bishops on the board. This is a real problem piece for Black in the French Defense.

Poorly Placed Bishop on c8

Moreover, the White e-pawn is ready to advance to e5 at any moment, so Black has to be careful to time natural developing moves like Nf6. He definitely tends to rule out bringing the bishop to the otherwise comfortable square on d6.

In the advanced variation black begins his counterstrategy with the move 3…c5, putting immediate pressure on White’s pawn chain. Black has no real choice except to defend this with 4.c3. That way he can always recapture with the pawn and keep the centre intact.

Black now plays 4…Nc6, and is starting to build a little bit more pressure on White. And after 5.Nf3, we reach a standard starting position in the French Advance.

Origins of the French Defense

Although analyzed by the Italian Lucena in the 15th century, the French Defense was named for the Parisian players who adopted the move 1…e6 in an 1834 correspondence game against London. 

The contrarian temperament it takes to play the defense may also remind some of the French nature. Most young players eschew the French in favor of defenses with direct counterplay such as the Sicilian or Pirc.

With the French Defense, one must first defend then counterattack. This is not for everyone, but its great exponents Botvinnik, Korchnoi and Short have scored well with the opening.

Final Verdict

With 1…e6 and 2…d5, Black makes his claim in the centre. The conflict between the White pawn on e4 and the Black pawn on d5 begins the central struggle. Usually before the 10th move the pawn structure for the middlegame is determined, White looking for the kingside initiative and Black for counterchances on the queenside.

 One frequent positional theme is the liberation of Black’s light squared bishop, locked inside the pawn chain by Black’s first move. The problem Bishop may cause difficulties even in the endgame.