I Don’t Understand the French

So I’ve been dabbling with the French and I’m not sure why. Full disclosure: I’m not very good. I used to be good, but I’m not now, but that’s a long story.

Anyway, at the top levels the French has a bad reputation and I think only Nepo plays it somewhat often, and then not really much in the last year.

At low levels almost always, like maybe 75%+ of the time, it devolves into an exchange, which is boring, and requires little knowledge of theory to play. The rest of the time it’s an Advance, and I’ve only been able to play the Winawer against the bots.

So it’s bad at the top and not great at the bottom. And yet there is a ton of French theory. A ton! You can spend years learning all the intricacies of the French, and many people do. I admit to watching hours of videos on the French and have never really been able to use any of it because it always diverges from theory.

So who is the French for? Just very good but not great players? When would I actually get to put this theory into practice?

non. J'aime les echecs

- the French is used at grandmaster level, even +2700, a few months ago Anish Giri just published a thick book on the opening. Top 10 player should be enough here to qualify.

- the exchange variation is boring only if you do not choose to punish White for its crime;

- The advance variation leads to the pawn centre all French defence player dream about;

- Depending on the variations you choose, the French defence is often more about plans that theory;

- No offence but the problem is not the opening: "Full disclosure: I’m not very good" sums it all.

Just improve at chess broadly speaking, then you will better understand openings.

I’m not going to improve at chess generally. I know a lot of theory, but there are medical reasons I have trouble calculating. I use theory as a crutch, play for fun and know a lot about chess, so please don’t be so dismissive.

And I follow all the top tournaments and the French is almost never played, and you almost always see it end as a draw or a loss. I can’t remember the last time that I saw a French win in a top tournament. Giri may have written the book, but he only plays the French against weaker opponents. I know he’s lost to the French in 2016 against Harikrishna at Norway Chess. Nepo was destroyed using the French against MVL at the candidate’s last year and I haven’t seen Nepo use it since. So it’s not so much used at the top and it definitely doesn’t have the best reputation amongst GMs.

There are no punishing lines for black in the exchange. If white makes no mistakes, it’s almost always a draw. The pawn structure is symmetrical, there are no imbalances, and white has a tempo.

The advance just seems to me to be a CK with a worse bishop. 🤷‍♀️

I personally use it to have some variation. I play a lot OTB with amateurs and it's really frustrating to have a group of friends around the board and every match starting with 1.e4 e5 or 1.d4 d5. French is a really nice variation if I want to play for fun and know that my opponent is really an amateur.

Also, it can be used to surprise an opponent too. I always played e4 against my dad, which to he always replied e5. Last month I started to finally beat him, because my game improved and I already knew what he would do after his move e5.
This weekend, for the first time, he played e6, and everything I knew about how he played had to be reconsidered.

I agree it's no the best opening , but it's not the worst.

 

Some slight corrections:

 

1) The Exchange is only boring if you are ADHD or do not understand the French.  I get the following a LOT in the exchange:

 

2) The advance does not give Black what he wants!  If White knows what he is doing, blockading the dark squares on d4 and e5 can give Black MAJOR headaches (trust me, I know, I play it from both sides).  White has to realize that it is not about keeping the pawns intact.  Often dxc5 or exf6 are good moves.  It is all about controlling d4 and e5, often with a B on b2, the Knight on f3 often going to d4 or e5, the other Knight coming around to e2 or f3.  DO NOT ALLOW ...e5 by Black!

 

The Tarrasch gets White equality and nothing more if Black answers via 3...c5 and if 4.exd5 recapture with the e-pawn, 4...exd5.  You need to know your IQP theory, but Black has an excellent version of the IQP the way White's Knights are arranged.  Position is fully equal.

 

The move 3.Nc3 is actually the hardest move for Black to deal with, and the only move more difficult than 3.e5.  Black has a number of ways to answer, all of which a matter of taste, but they each have their warts, from the Winnawer to the McCutchen to the Classical to the Burn to the Rubinstein.

I didn’t start the thread to trash the French, I just was wondering if I should bother to continue using it. It seems so pointless if all I get is the exchange for learning lots of theory that I will never get to use.

Trust me, the Winawer is fun! I kinda love it, but I only get to play it against the bots. It seems to me an opening that only 2000-2600 players can fully enjoy.

Thanks for that exchange line @thriller, I’ll look to see if I can use it.

@Nikki It was certainly not my goal to be dismissive, I saw an adult with a 1300 elo so I assumed you were very likely to be a beginner. If you want concrete advices about the Winaver or the exchange variation, you can have a look at this thread: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/french-repertoire-advice

 

@thriller:

I have read Svechnikov's book on the advance variation, I am not saying it is a forced win or anything of the sort for Black, but the d4-e5/d5-e6 pawn chain is definitely a type of position most French defence players are comfortable with as a rule of thumb, the plans are usually clear. I would certainly not grumble "oh, not that stuff..." when seeing e5.

Mainly for players who like French pawn structures.

Exchange:

Black shouldn't be too sad to see the exchange. Unlike other opening there is not much suffering for Black here. You could still head for quite positions with 0-0, or wild positions with 0-0-0. A lot of French players do the latter.

Advanced:

I agree with Merovwig. I am usually happy to see this, as I get a well-known pawn structure with clear plans...

3. Nc3:

Actually, this is the move to worry about most. However, if you like those structures you could either wait till you are in the intermediate range. Many players between 1600-2000 will play 3. Nc3. Or you could consider switching to the Sicilian: There are sharp positions that you seem to like and a lot of theory.

Finally, try playing good old 5 hour games with the French, so that the ideas get to your long term memory... ;-)

 

You realise that it's a matter of opinion right? If someone doesn't enjoy it, that's that. You can't say they don't understand it or label them with some diagnoses. The exchange variation of the french bores most people. I'm sure some enjoy it and the French def can lead to some really interesting and crazy positions so it's a great opening. 

If you don't like the symmetrical nature of the French Exchange, here's a trick as Black:

Develop your king knight and bishop in an "opposite" manner of White.

If White plays Nf3, you can play ...Ne7.

If White plays Bd3, you can play ...Bg7.

And the opposite works, too.

If White plays Ne2, you can play ...Nf6.

If White plays Bg3, you can play ...Bd6.

So basically: you're developing your knight and bishop in an "opposite" manner of White. If White plays his knight to the 3rd rank, you develop yours to the second. If White chooses not to fianchetto his bishop, you choose to fianchetto your bishop. And so on.

This way, you'll always reach a non-symmetrical exchange position.

(Granted, there are a few specific instances where you may want to vary from this. But for simplicity's sake, there's a "rule of thumb" approach that you can noodle around with.)

I don’t understand them either, but their food is good 😁

Actually if white diverges from theory you should be very happy. Black normally gets a great game if that happens. here is a winawer game I played where white diverged from theory on move 8.  Its only when white knows the theory really well that things get hard.....at my level I have found that really rare....in fact I dont think its ever happened in an OTB game.

 

Here is another game where my opponent didnt know quite enough theory to play for an advantage. It was one of the more positional lines. Actually Im not that sure white has much even if he knows the theory in the 8. a4 line.

 

it might help to think that if you play someone stronger, he might not necessarily want a draw even if he can force it, and someone weaker may not have the necessary skill to get the draw he may desire. and so that still leaves room to play for a win. just be patient and opportunistic.

The French often gets a bad reputation, but it's actually not that bad. At the highest current level (engine vs. engine), it's basically a draw.

At the human level, though, I'd say White has an "easier" game. White has many attacking options to choose from, while Black's counter-attacking path is a bit narrower.

This is likely why it's less popular at the elite level. It's not that the French is objectively bad — it's just that, against the most pressing lines from White, Black often has to play defense most of the game.

Some players love playing defense, though. Especially since, in the French, if White's attack fizzles out, it often leaves Black with a better endgame.

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