Black can actually evade this dubious variation completely ( not that any French player should be scared of 2. Bb5) by 2...Qg5!? Bf1 Qd8! forcing white either concede to a draw or confine himself to playing a more conventional approach to the French. Unless, of course white has other second move tricks up his sleeve... perhaps the Chigorin (2. Qe2)?
In all, hardly a refutation of the French.
even 2.d4 does not refute French. How can 2.Bb5 refute it ?
even 2.d4 does not refute French. How can 2.Bb5 refute it ?
even 2.d4 does not refute French. How can 2.Bb5 refute it ?
Check out his rating. The clown is 1131. Do you really think what he says has any validity to it?
My rating has fluctuated between 2030 and 2185 for a number of years now, 900 to 1050 points above that fool, and I have plenty of success playing the French Defense. It is actually my primary defense to 1.e4 (my secondary is the Caro-Kann). If it was truly busted, I wouldn't be winning games left and right with the French Defense now, would I?
He probably had some monster game against another 1100 clown, and then looked online amongst thousands of games to come up with three of them where White won, discarding the rest!
Sure, I can make any opening look like it scores 100% by only displaying games won by the side that I want to win!
1. e4 e6
2. De2 is theory
an interesting way to surprise in the French opening.
1. e4 e6
2. De2 is theory
an interesting way to surprise in the French opening.
It's not scary at all. It plays like a KIA with the White pawn on f4 instead of f2. Black should reply 2...c5 and follow up with normal development, like 3...Nc6, 4...Be7, 5...Nf6, 6...d5, and 7...O-O. Of course, this is assuming White plays the normal line. Obviously if White deviates from 2.Qe2 theory, then your moves will deviate too.
I faced it last month in Charlottesville in the final round. I achieved a won position and blundered on move 46, relinquishing half the point to White. The game ended in a draw in something like 58 or 59 moves.
Trying to "Surprise" is not the answer against the French. The French is one of those openings that players who advocate it as Black really do know it, even the offbeat lines. It's not like catching someone off guard in the Sicilian.
"Check out his rating. The clown is 1131. Do you really think what he says has any validity to it?"
Correction: His bullet rating is 151 and his blitz rating is 127. Check his profile.
The best ways to play for a win against the French are the main lines: 2.d4 d5 and then choose between 3.Nc3, 3.e5, or (if you like more positional stuff) 3.Nd2. I'm a 3.Nc3 player myself. I win most tournament games with white in the lines that arise, playing in a berserker attacking style. I did lose to GM Darwin Yang in the Winawer last year, ironically because I chickened out at a moment when I should have played a somewhat speculative piece sac.
1. e4 e6
2. De2 is theory
an interesting way to surprise in the French opening.
It's not scary at all. It plays like a KIA with the White pawn on f4 instead of f2. Black should reply 2...c5 and follow up with normal development, like 3...Nc6, 4...Be7, 5...Nf6, 6...d5, and 7...O-O. Of course, this is assuming White plays the normal line. Obviously if White deviates from 2.Qe2 theory, then your moves will deviate too.
I faced it last month in Charlottesville in the final round. I achieved a won position and blundered on move 46, relinquishing half the point to White. The game ended in a draw in something like 58 or 59 moves.
Trying to "Surprise" is not the answer against the French. The French is one of those openings that players who advocate it as Black really do know it, even the offbeat lines. It's not like catching someone off guard in the Sicilian.
That is well known!
Please give us some new and helpful Information:
Interesting, everything is useful; good weapon against low rated players.
French defence is not the easiest defence i thing,also I have been told it is not so easy to play French as a defence against a 2600+ player
I know. I played the French against a 2650 and got crushed. Obviously the weak opening is to blame. I've been looking for better openings that allow me to draw against 2600 players.
1. e4 e6
2. De2 is theory
an interesting way to surprise in the French opening.
It's not scary at all. It plays like a KIA with the White pawn on f4 instead of f2. Black should reply 2...c5 and follow up with normal development, like 3...Nc6, 4...Be7, 5...Nf6, 6...d5, and 7...O-O. Of course, this is assuming White plays the normal line. Obviously if White deviates from 2.Qe2 theory, then your moves will deviate too.
I faced it last month in Charlottesville in the final round. I achieved a won position and blundered on move 46, relinquishing half the point to White. The game ended in a draw in something like 58 or 59 moves.
Trying to "Surprise" is not the answer against the French. The French is one of those openings that players who advocate it as Black really do know it, even the offbeat lines. It's not like catching someone off guard in the Sicilian.
2. Qe2 is so bad that even 2...d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3 Qd8 should probably be perfectly fine for black since white's queen having moved from d1 prevents him from playing d4. Black can go c5 and stop that possibility for the foreseeable future. So even if you mouseslip or premove 2...d5 after Qe2, you probably still aren't worse.
The best response to 2. Qe2 is almost certainly not 2...d5 though. 2...c5 and 2...e5 are absolutely fine and black can never be worse.
Black can also just play 2...c6 and 3...d5, and white's eager bishop becomes useless.
I Play the French A LOT as white and black (on Lichess), and it seems to me that the only tricky lines for black are the Qg4 madness and The Dreaded Exchange Variation (It's my opinion that white only plays this line to annoy the black player!)
I Play the French A LOT as white and black (on Lichess), and it seems to me that the only tricky lines for black are the Qg4 madness and The Dreaded Exchange Variation (It's my opinion that white only plays this line to annoy the black player!)
I guess that's how I'm going to call the french exchange for the rest of my life.
This is known as the Bird variation. It is was favored by Henry Bird, who went 3-0 with it at Vienna 1873.
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1027965
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