Hi,
Main ideas for black in the French basically include counterattacking in the center and queen side, while white is going to attack on the king side.
Meanwhile, black will also try to find a way to solve his problematic light squared bishop.
In addition, black will also try not to get run over, as white's attack is usually faster than black's counterattack. This will require patience on black's part to find the right moment to strike in the center.
Common practitioners include : Viktor Korchnoi, Hikaru Nakumura, and Lev Psakhis
As for the game, you survived the opening, but seemed to lose your way in the middlegame.
I thought 4...Qb6 was a little early. I would have preferred 4...Nc6, but it ended up transposing anyway. Apparently, after 4...Qb6, you can play 5..Bd7 where the LSB will be headed to b5 to be exchanged.
Instead of 6...Nge7, 6...Cxd4 could have been considered to solidify the weakness on d4. It also might prevent white's DSB from developing as then you can play 7...Nge7 to 8...Nf5. Game continuation was fine, just not the most critical way to play.
Nice job on move 10, not taking the pawn.
11...Bb6 was fine, but I would have considered 11...Be7 with the thought of Re8 and b6 as a followup. A LSB on b7 might serve well some day with a potential pawn sacrifice on d4, but it would not be possible for a few moves, as white will secure the d4 square. With a DSB on e7, a f6 break could be supported, where then you could potentially seize the initiative in the center.
12...Nfe7 !? I thought the knight looked fine on f5. I would have waited until it was provoked by a pawn push by g4 where then the knight could retreat to e7. If you wanted to maneuver the knight to g6, I think it would have stood worse on g6 than on f5. I would have preferred 12..Bd7 to continue development, or 12..a5 to gain some space on the queenside.
The next couple moves you move the knight back and forth. Remember opening principles: develop pieces and connect rooks. Attack the center. No need to go for a repetition where there is plenty of play left on the board. Unless you had something else to do, then a draw may have been fine.
21...Qd8!? You protect the piece, but you put yourself into a pin. I would have preferred something like 21... Rfe8. You want to avoid putting yourself into pins, as they restrict your mobility. A good army is mobile.
At this point in the game, white stands better because all his pieces are developed and he has more space. Meanwhile, Black's pieces are not very coordinated and not attacking the lone pawn on e5. If I were white, I would try to go in for an attack, starting with g4 to try and open files.
Instead of 24...Bc4, I would have preferred 24...Ba6. The LSB has finally found a good diagonal, but it won't stay long on c4. On c4, it only provokes queenside momentum for white.
I liked the idea behind 25...Bxb3, but you miscalculated when you did not see that white gets out of the skewer with the mate threat. Besides, you should not worry about pawns as much as you should worry about piece placement. I think after 27..g6 you are on the defensive, and the best you could hope for is to beat off the attack and create a passed pawn on the queen side.
You are lucky your opponent did not play something like 28. Re3
You are also lucky that your opponent did not decide to crack you down with h4.
I would have considered the exchange sacrifice 38...Rxc5. You might be able to change the course of the game by shifting the attention to the queenside, where your connected passed pawns might be fast enough to queen. The follow up would be 38. bxc5 Rc8.
After move 40, you are simply twiddling your thumbs, waiting for your opponent to finish you off. It is an awful feeling but it is also why you have to try to find active counterplay earlier in the game.
The lesson is that you have to be aware of dynamic factors in the French because the French is a dynamic opening. Seek active counterplay. Before going in for a sacrifice, ask yourself : Is there anything that my opponent can play that can stop my master plan? It does not hurt to double check.
Do not be so concerned about pawns. Sure pawns are important in the endgame, but other times they might be an obstacle to bishop and rook activation. If you lose or gain a pawn, that is ok, you might gain or lose it back.
Hope this helps. I would suggest studying basic attacking plans and master games in the french.
I'm fairly new to The French Defence, but I want to adopt it as one of my main responses to 1. e4. However, in this game it looks like I have some of the ideas behind how to continue playing the French after the opening improper and too confused.
Would appreciate some suggestions on how I should continue playing in this line variation.