They play it because it looks good but they don’t actually know how to play it. 6.a3! Fights for an advantage. As black my choice would be 6...c4, not allowing white to play b4, but 6...Nh6! Is also a very strong response.
French Defense, Advance Variation
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3 Nc3, 3 Nd2, 3 e5, 3 exd5 It is all a matter of fashion.
Grandelius-Caruana Tata Steel 2022 also saw 3 e5
https://en.chessbase.com/post/tata-steel-chess-2022-live
Jan 26, 2022
0
#4
B1ZMARK wrote:
They play it because it looks good but they don’t actually know how to play it. 6.a3! Fights for an advantage. As black my choice would be 6...c4, not allowing white to play b4, but 6...Nh6! Is also a very strong response.
There is some question to that of late. It used to be thought that best play for both sides after 6...Nh6 was 7.b4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Bb2 and then 9...Bd7 or 9...Be7.
Now most are going to e7 and allowing Na3 or else playing 6...c4 because Bxh6 is beginning to look strong for White.
NOT on move 7, but rather...
Jan 26, 2022
0
#5
ThrillerFan wrote:
B1ZMARK wrote:
They play it because it looks good but they don’t actually know how to play it. 6.a3! Fights for an advantage. As black my choice would be 6...c4, not allowing white to play b4, but 6...Nh6! Is also a very strong response.
There is some question to that of late. It used to be thought that best play for both sides after 6...Nh6 was 7.b4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Bb2 and then 9...Bd7 or 9...Be7.
Now most are going to e7 and allowing Na3 or else playing 6...c4 because Bxh6 is beginning to look strong for White.
NOT on move 7, but rather...
Oh ok
my book is from 2015 and covers a wide range of openings shallowly. I don’t play the French from either side so thanks for the input
Jan 26, 2022
0
#6
The second is the Milner-Barry Gambit which can be quite dangerous, if white knows what they are doing. White might get more compensation with 9Nb-d2, instead of the traditional exchanges.
Jan 26, 2022
0
#7
B1ZMARK wrote:
ThrillerFan wrote:
B1ZMARK wrote:
They play it because it looks good but they don’t actually know how to play it. 6.a3! Fights for an advantage. As black my choice would be 6...c4, not allowing white to play b4, but 6...Nh6! Is also a very strong response.
There is some question to that of late. It used to be thought that best play for both sides after 6...Nh6 was 7.b4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Bb2 and then 9...Bd7 or 9...Be7.
Now most are going to e7 and allowing Na3 or else playing 6...c4 because Bxh6 is beginning to look strong for White.
NOT on move 7, but rather...
Oh ok
my book is from 2015 and covers a wide range of openings shallowly. I don’t play the French from either side so thanks for the input
The Even More Flexible French? If so, his update, The Fully Fledged French from 2021 has removed that line for the reason mentioned. Trying to recall where I first saw the idea. I know the 6.Be2/8.Bxh6 line was in NIC Yearbook 137, but I saw the one with a3 somewhere else that I do not recall.
Jan 26, 2022
0
#8
nah, it's "Understanding the Chess Openings" by Sam Collins. It's out of print now, which i feel is a shame, since his notes to each opening were very helpful.
I remember googling it and finding a free pdf online when I realized it was out of print. Thankfully I have the actual book, though.
I've been playing the french for a while now, it gives good results.
One thing I usually see the most is the advanced variation, why is this so common at my level (not Nc3 or Nd2) and they usually drop the b2 pawn and the d4 pawn, e5 pawn as well
examples: