well.. the whole point of the French is to attack the center with the c5 break. after 4. e5, your position is simply cramped and you will have to move your c6 knight again very soon. if you are that afraid of 4. bg5 in the classical, you could go instead with a bishop move: 3... Bb4 (winauer) Be7.
This variation gets a whole chapter in Watson's excellent Dangerous Weapons in the French Defence. As for 5f4 that seems a poor move to me and I am several hundred points below 1750 at blitz.
I guess after 5.Bb5 the game depends on whether White can do something with the e5 square. You seem to be trading tactical problems for positional ones by playing ...Nc6 instead of allowing the Burn.
This variation gets a whole chapter in Watson's excellent Dangerous Weapons in the French Defence. As for 5f4 that seems a poor move to me and I am several hundred points below 1750 at blitz.
Ah, didn't know it was covered in there, thanks for the tip! Yeah, it seems like people get thrown off and just try and play it like an advanced french, where f4 is often played with hope of play along the f-file. but obviously that doesnt work here.
