Best resource or tool to learn Winawer French from?

What is the best resource or at least a very good resource, in your opinion, to try and learn/understand the winawer french?

I wanted to give it a go, for some big tournament in july/august. The classical french with 3..nf6 is nice and all, but I'd like to keep 3..Bb4 in my back pocket.

Any suggestions? Opinions are welcome of course. 

Books would most preferable, with videos only working strictly for memorization imo. I am not your typical learner.

Please don't troll or be unrelevant. I may block you if you prove to be nonsensical. 

The only suggestion I have is to go about it from blacks perspective and find a book that way perhaps, I do not have any that focus on that line, although it is my favorite to play

The games of Korchnoi would be a fair place to start. I've fined down the search for you here.

For $0.01 (and $3.99 S+H) you can't go wrong with this (used, or $8 new) book from 1976 don't worry about the fact most of the theory in it is from the Stone Age because it's called "Understanding the FD"  by GMs Botvinnik, Gligoric, Karpov and Uhlmann with 135 pp on the Winawer. Of course you'll need something a little more modern for some Bronze Age theory (at least) but this is a real good start. And you can trust me, because I'm always right and I never lie me.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0890580103/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

I don't own his FD book but I do own GM Moskalenko's "The Fabulous Budapest Gambit" (2008) which is pretty good and I've been playing it sporadically for decades so I do have a clue about judging this book. It lacks anything remotely resembling a useful Table of Contents or Index of Variations branching out from 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 etc. is my main complaint. And in general since books like this are for learning a general overview of the opening you're going to run into opponents who play lines not covered at all in the book (can you say DataBase boys and girls?)

However, the book you might be interested in is "The Wonderful Winawer" (even though it's not "Fabulous") http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Winawer-Strategic-Surprise-Weapons/dp/9056913271

Here's a review of a FD book from 1998 by IM Minev, who was one of ECO's and ECE's "founding fathers" among many other writing credits             

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/french2.txt

Get Moskalenko's "Wonderful Winawer". It's not a complete Winawer manual, but it's a REAL book, not the usual modern crap: database+engine analysis dump.

I've heard good things about Shirov's Winawer DVD.

Simon Williams' "Attacking Chess: The French" is a repertoire book that uses the Winawer and has a lot of explanation.

I agree with IM pfren.  I have Moskalenko's book and enjoy it very much along with his The Flexible French.'

Also, I would recommend Giddin's book sight unseen because I very much enjoy the Move by Move series and I have Giddin's book on the English in that series and enjoy his writing style.

I am going to read Moskalenko's "The Wonderful Winawer", in about a week. From there, I hope I can finish it by the end of the month.

Thanks for the recommendation pfren. All of the other peoples' posts seem very plausible sources to look at too, so I will do so later, as I will keep this thread as a reference. 

I'd like to somewhat retract my sight unseen recommendation of the French Winawer: Move by Move since after looking through the book I tend to agree with an Amazon review that bashed it for the material not being organized.

i.e. it's not split out into Qg4 lines vs other lines such as Nf3, etc.  There is no organization and no index of variations.

Are those great reasons NOT to buy the book?  Not really.  I'll likely buy the book.  But it is a good reason not to use it as a resource for initial learning.

The reason I'd like to seriously consider the Winawer is that I am tired of playing against the f4 line of the steinitz french, i mean the 7..a6 and even 7..Qb6 lines are fine and all, but I'd like something new. Something to spice it up, tired of hearing people say crap about how its so hard for them to play: Well, am I never suppose to play it then?? If its hard to play, so be it.

Take a look at the games from the Smyslov-Botvinnik championship matches from the '50's.  A lot of Winawer theory was established in them.

Here is a cool tactic I saw in Moskalenko's book in chapter 1 with 4.a3, he never mentioned it but you have to find it.

 I am trying to pick between some of the lines he offer, think ill just choose the simplest options, and check back later to him if there another sideline i'd like to pick.

Btw, I like personally like the positions he gives so far, when I am engine checking them for laughs, its funny to see that it says .4 advantage for white, when its clear that even with the two bishop advantage, theres absolutely no play in such a position, no prospects to improve position often, dumb engines.

Here is another subvariation Moskalenko ignores for the black side, it's not a big deal really.

pfren wrote:

Get Moskalenko's "Wonderful Winawer". It's not a complete Winawer manual, but it's a REAL book, not the usual modern crap: database+engine analysis dump.

How is GM Mosalenko,s new book on the Pirc Modern? I don't play either opening but I'm inclined to pick up regardless as this guy can really write......

I'm afraid I will dissapoint you: no idea, not enough money to buy any book that's out. I don't have this one, and I've never been a Pirc/ Modern fan.

I second NimzoRoy's recommendation of the old RHM book ("The French Defence", Gligoric & Uhlmann, RHM 1975). My first book on the French, in fact. For $0.01 plus shipping and handling, what can you lose?

A lot depends on your level (not mentioned in the original post here) but the RHM book gives plenty of interesting illustrative games, plus an outline of the theory. Way out of date theory, sure, so wrong in many ways. But it provides a good point of comparison with Watson or Moskalenko or any of the other books: Gligoric and Uhlmann knew quite a bit so if they were wrong, why were they wrong? This gives one way to see the non-obvious parts of the overall system.

Neil McDonald's Mastering the French (with the Read and Play method) is the best introductory book ever written on the French, period.

Yes, that's another good one. Mastering the French, Neil McDonald & Andrew Harley, Batsford 1997. Though it seems to be hard to find, and when it appears it tends to be very expensive. (A quick check on Amazon shows it listed at $139.85 new, $55.42 used!) I was lucky enough to receive a practically unread copy recently as a loan from a friend.

My understanding is that Quality Chess is working on a two volume French work in their Grandmaster Repertoire series and that volume one will cover the Winawer.