i tried the French for a long while before the theory and fact that white gets to choose the variation started to get to me. this could change that!? do you have any interesting games to share?
French with 3...h6
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No I haven't played any yet, but may later on ICC. Sounds like the kind of thing you find room for in your repertoire, if only for surprise value or for a change of pace.
Jul 21, 2008
0
#5
For surprise value, it seems to have more than c5 against the advance Caro: (e4 c6 d4 d5 e5 c5)
I would play this line. I don't think 3... h6 is sound.
Why should black play d4? A development with Bc5, Nge7, and O-O looks a lot better. I'm not sure about your f6 move because of 8. Qh4+.
Chessbase Magazine #118 had a section on the h6 french, here's a sample clip.
http://www.chessbase.com/news/2007/products/cbm118intro.wmv
GotGoose wrote:
Why should black play d4? A development with Bc5, Nge7, and O-O looks a lot better. I'm not sure about your f6 move because of 8. Qh5+.
I did not say that black should play d4, but I realise that the way in which I presented my analysis was misleading. You are correct that it is a bad move. You are also correct that 7... f6 is a bad move, because there is no pawn on h7 supporting g6. This means that white can have a strong pawn on e5, supported by the pawn on f4. White has a space advantage, and a good positional player would be able to squeeze the life out of black.
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After reviewing this comment, I realize that black has a countering move, 7... g5, showing the purpose of 3... h6. I shall analyse that move...
My engine is not cooperating. I'll give some more of my analysis.
Here are some ideas. Be sure to look at the move list:
Perhaps Bb5+ is not the best move.
I'd rather play black after 8... Bg4. I'd follow up with c6 to limit the scope of the knight on c3, and then I'd play Nd7. Then perhaps a plan with b5 and a5 would be good?
Perhaps black is better because of white's dark squared bishop. Perhaps the sharp line I showed is best, and 3... h6 is a very good move. I am not qualified to say.
I've played the french for years, and although I'm not the best, I think 3...h6 is a poor move. It goes against opening principles for a start & you're basically handing white an extra tempo.
GrumpyComic wrote:
I've played the french for years, and although I'm not the best, I think 3...h6 is a poor move. It goes against opening principles for a start & you're basically handing white an extra tempo.
This was my first impression of this move. So I posted some analysis showing why it was bad. It turns out that there were mistakes in my analysis. Now I find it hard to prove it dubious. If white plays an e5, then he cannot support it with f4, because of g5! If white plays it like an exchange, then he cannot move his bishop to g5 to pin the knight. I believe that white's best option is to play it like a Winawer, with 4. Bb5+ c6 5. Bd3 Bb4 6. e5. This leads to a razor sharp game, where there are large attacking chances for both sides. To me, 3... h6 is not bad, just like 5... a6 in the Najdorf is not bad.
It's not a dubious move as such, but I think it does allow White that extra move for development. Why should White play e5 at all? Develop your pieces quickly instead. I'd rather get my pieces in play before I set myself up to any rigid pawn formation.
I like chances with better development in the exchange as White (though I wouldn't exchange immediately) and black's h6 has weakened his kingside pawn structure. Personally I wouldn't play it. It might be fine if White goes along with the advance but if he doesn't you could be in trouble.
Another thing I've noticed, is that french players tend to shy away from the sharp all-out tactical games of open board warfare, and enjoy the closed, positional counter attacking style the french often leads to. I rarely play the advance (e5) or classic version (Nc3) and prefer the Tarrasch (Nd2) or the exchange (exd5...exd5) with c4 to really unsettle them.
Btw some nice analysis, BasicLvrCH8r
Thank you.
I believe that you are correct that an exchange-like game is best for white and leaves him with a small advantage in a drawish position.
I also believe that you are correct that most French players enjoy a quieter game. It seems that three out of four times, a French player will play the Classical in response to 3. Nc3 rather than the Winawer. I play the French, but I believe that boring openings are insults to the game of chess 
. I always try for a sharp game, which is why I play the Winawer against 3. Nc3 and 4... b6 in the Rubinstein against the Tarrasch. The former leads to a wild game, while the latter at least is not boring.
Talking about the French ideas. I will start a forum on this idea, but mine involves ...g5 as the focus, an early ...g5. e4 e6 d4 d5 e5 c5 c3 Nc6 Nf3 Be7 Bd3 g5!?. Definetely double-edged.
As far as preferring not to play tactical games, I don't think that is true for a French player. I think tactics naturally emerge in these games, and they are played for choice. I like the French...just because.
Has anyone experimented with the (relatively) obscure 3...h6 lines of the French?
After 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 h6 the idea is:
Against 3. Nd2 the idea of 3...h6 is to provoke e5 to close the center and then play ...g5(!), i.e. 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 h6 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Ne2 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. Nf3 Qb6 9. O-O g5! (black wants to win the d-pawn with ...g4)
...h6 is a useful idea against the exchange French (prevents Bg5) so solutions based on exd5 don't really challenge anything.
Just something to new to play around with!