e6 is the main move for the French. If you don't like it I recommend you not to play this opening... But then you played it for years what make you change your mind about this move? I barely know how to really play a french game but I've read a book about it and it seems to me as a tight system and for those who like ''muscle'' positions. Perhaps you need to learn more about the various positions the e6 move can lead to so that you can be more at ease with the French.
good luck
eehc
I find the 'Starting Out' series, put out by by Everyman Publishers, to be great introductions to many different openings. 'Starting Out: The Sicilian' by John Emms is no exception. It covers most of the main lines, including the Najdorf, Taimanov, Dragon, etc, and indicates popular plans for the white and black sides.
The French is not asthetically pleasing. As you progress to higher levels you will get positions that are barely if at all on the verge of being acceptable. Basically, there is a lot of misery ahead for aspiring French players.
However, it is viable and the style of playing/thinking that it uses is both fun and (somewhat) unique. Black gets to start throwing punches right away, faster than in most any other defense.
If you want a neat and tidy defense consider seriously 1...e5. In just about anything else black is making concessions which will produce ugly, complicated positions like what you get after f6.
Agree on the first paragraphs, but not on the last.
For any opening you will need to get dirty work done in some lines. Ok, the French is more likely to produce these than other stuff, but there is some everywhere.
I agree with what Steinitz said about the French defense.
"I have never in my life played the French Defence, which is the dullest of all openings"
Personally, I wouldn't recommend the sicillian. I played a game against a player of approximate equal strength. He played the sicillian and lost. The opening was strong, but easy to deteriorate.
I decided to test out the sicillian myself against a player who happened to be a bit higher rated. It's not going so well.
I'll need to try out this opening a bit more before I draw conclusions.
The benefit of the french is that it is a fairly easily understood opening with clear strategic ideas and is fairly forgiving of move order variances at the class level.
The downside of the french is that some of the ideas, like playing with a superior center after the f6 break are just frankly hard for class players to handle well. Even when you get to the point where you're willing to play f6 when required, it's not always as easy to play the resulting position for black as for white, at least for class level players.
The Caro-Kahn is an opening that has similarly clear strategic ideas, tends to have easier pawn play, but you pay for that with quite a few more lines that you simply need to know. It's not as forgiving of move-order considerations as the French. But if you like the French because of the clarity of the ideas and the ease with which black can often play them, and your only downside is playing with the center pawns, then the CK may well be your cup of tea.
Another opening to consider for the same reasons is the center-counter/Scandanavian opening.
One big benefit of both the CK and the Scandanavian is that if you play the Slav or Semi-Slav as white then you'll be dealing wtih almost identical pawn structures in both your e4 and d4 games.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend the sicillian. I played a game against a player of approximate equal strength. He played the sicillian and lost. The opening was strong, but easy to deteriorate.
I decided to test out the sicillian myself against a player who happened to be a bit higher rated. It's not going so well.
I'll need to try out this opening a bit more before I draw conclusions.
You are right, your analysis of the Sicilian must be superior to Fischer and Kasparov. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???
For a class player with limited study time, the Sicillian may not be a particularly good choice.
Regardless of how sound it might be in the hands of someone like Fischer or Kasparov.
The French compared to Caro-Kann is so miserable.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend the sicillian. I played a game against a player of approximate equal strength. He played the sicillian and lost. The opening was strong, but easy to deteriorate.
I decided to test out the sicillian myself against a player who happened to be a bit higher rated. It's not going so well.
I'll need to try out this opening a bit more before I draw conclusions.
You are right, your analysis of the Sicilian must be superior to Fischer and Kasparov. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???
I guess he meant (with not well-chosen words, sure) that his personal experience with the Sicilian proves that you cannot improvise safely in it. Which I can understand.
The French compared to Caro-Kann is so miserable.
Huh, sounds a bit presomptuous, doesn't it ?
<-- French player for years, also a Sicilian player for years, and a Caro player for about a year.
I'd recommend the Caro if you have been a French player. Caro has a similar feel of solidarity, while delaying that e6/f6 pawn move that you dislike so much.
Like was said earlier, the "Starting Out" series has good books on openings. After seeing what they have for the Caro Kann, I'd then recommend looking for more "repertoire" style books, which are geared for intense study of the opening.
Sicilian is fun and there's no reason you can't play it. When I was choosing my openings I played Sicilian, Caro, French, and KID. Trying all the different openings is a good way to learn the different positions that result from them. There's no reason to limit yourself to a single repertoire.
But, if you want to focus on just one, I'd recommend going with the Caro, based on your style preference. *thumbs up* It's a much shorter learning curve for a French player, than going from French to Sicilian, especially an e5 sicilian (if anything I would recommend the Paulsen e6 sicilian, or the Dragon or Scheveningen.. in either case you should get books on those, too, if you want to play it at a high level.)
The French compared to Caro-Kann is so miserable.
Huh, sounds a bit presomptuous, doesn't it ?
I don't think so. In French black has so many problems to solve and the endgames are better for white in general. Adams and Karpov relied on Caro-Kann exclusively when they were at their best. Who was the last world class player who used the French? Of course it is playable at lower levels but as you get better you see that French is problematic opening.
The French compared to Caro-Kann is so miserable.
Huh, sounds a bit presomptuous, doesn't it ?
I don't think so. In French black has so many problems to solve and the endgames are better for white in general. Adams and Karpov relied on Caro-Kann exclusively when they were at their best. Who was the last world class player who used the French? Of course it is playable at lower levels but as you get better you see that French is problematic opening.
Hum... Korchnoi, for instance. And closer in time, a quick search on wikipedia yields 5 opening books after 2008.
Do you seriously think the French is, if not losing by force, inferior to all other standard openings ?
sorry, meant f6, thanks for the responses . . .
Petrosian regularly used the French as well.
Korchnoi plays the French, but it is not his primary weapon against 1. e4.
I know of no player who's name most people would know who employs the French against 1. e4 as his or her primary weapon. Even the best French players, like Shulman, use it as an occassional weapon not as a primary opening choice.
It is inferior to Caro-Kann, Petroff, Ruy Lopez, Sicilian and Pirc.
I've been playing the French for years but I think my time is done. I know the e6 break is necessary in many lines, I just don't like it, actually i hate it. I've tried the Modern, too cramped. I've never ever played the Sicilian . . . If I give it a try can I get a good book recomendation for someone new to the opening? There is a Move by Move book on the Taimnaov which looks interesting . . . any guidance for a wannabe Sicilian player?
-Ted