How to respond to 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 as black?
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i play the french and i love it, but i only know how to respond to 2. d4 but ppl keep play Nf3 or Nc3 on the 2nd move and im pretty sure it’s bad but idk how to punish it. Please help me out here.
Oct 3, 2022
0
#2
Natural developing moves like Nf3 og Nc3 surely can't be bad. So don't look for punishments. Just play according to your plan (the idea of 1...e6 was to support d5) = 2...d5. Probably there wil be an early d4 by White transposing to something you know well. Otherwise: be happe to have survived the opening with a fine position as Black.
Oct 5, 2022
0
#3
The two knights system is better against the Caro-Kann than the French.
1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5! 3.Nc3 (Most here play the insipid 3.exd5, but after 3...exd5 4.d4 Nf6, Black has already equalized) and now, Black has 2 options:
A) 3...d4 is ok. After 4.Ne2 c5 Black tries to prove his space advantage is something. I prefer line B
B) 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.d4 c5 (This position can also come via 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 and now the inferior 5.Nf3 as opposed to 5.f4) and now the best for both sides is 6.dxc5 (6.Bg5, known as the Jackal, is tricky, but inferior if Black knows what he is doing. It was once though ...f6 was best, but 6...Qb6 has now trumped that) 6...Nc6 7.Bf4 Bxc5.
White has a poor man's Steinitz French, where e5 is being covered by pieces instead of the f-pawn, and with the Knight on f3 and Bishop on f4, it will be an eternity before White gets in probably what is considered White's most critical pawn lever in most lines of the French, f5.
Black still has to play an accurate middle game, but he has come out of the opening better than he would with correct play by both in a Steinitz, Classical, McCutchen, or Winawer.