HOW TO BEAT THE FRENCH DEFENSE

The French is a very strong opening for black. It's extremely aggressive so many people play variations like the Advance or the Exchange. To win you have to know the lines better than your opponent and be a better player.

I have briefly checked all your rapid games featuring the French (or something looking like a French), and guess what? There was no early ...Qb6 in any one of them. And none of them was an advance French, as some posters here were assuming.

Anyway, I think that while your main concern should be the numerous tactical oversights you make in the game, to apply something simple, clear-cut and not so theoretical. Take for example the rather rare 3.Bd3 variation- I think the following video presents all you have to know abut it (or even, more than you could need right now).

https://youtu.be/vvgyBt3ZFYQ

Learn an opening!

It was reasonable of that poster to assume he was playing the Advance since white can get a weak b pawn if he doesn't know wht he's doing.

As Mazetoskylo says, look to your own tactical ability. The French is very tactical and can be very sharp. You could always play 2. Qe2. That's perfectly sound and it's a way to slow down the French player.

Oh Heavens, I listened to that video for about three minutes. He hasn't a clue how to make an interesting video. Must be one of the most boring chess video makers ever! Why doesn't he just quickly say "it's obvious for black to play 3. ...de and after 4. Bxe4, then 4. ...Nf6 and what does white do? He needs a quick answer instead of droning on.

Instead of pretending his voice is the most interesting thing to listen to for weeks, just "what does white do?" Isn't that free development for black? I think so. Yes of course, every opening has its little nuances ... even bad ones do. There's a very good reason it isn't played by masters.

Very true... sort of.

This list of games under classical time control with both players >2500 is big. If we add rapid and blitz, it gets really huge...

What most top players employ is 3...dxe4 4.Bxe4 c5 5.Ne2 Nf6 6.Bf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Ne5 9.Nc3 a6! 10.,Qe2 Nxf3+ 11.Qxf3 e5! which engines evaluate as approximately equal, but the position is rich, with plenty of play for both sides. And the O.P. certainly does not need to know theory that far.

Perhaps there should be some light coverage of 3.Bd3 Nc6!? in that video, but again, it is just what a post-beginner should know, or even more than that.

If you can't beat them join them

damn i guess i did all that for nothing then

Play the exchange. You may not enjoy it, but your opponent will most likely enjoy it even less.

Yes, if you master sharp lines it will significantly increase your elo until you plateau to a certain point. After that learn solid openings to increase your elo further.

"HOW TO BEAT THE FRENCH DEFENSE"

Play the main line:

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1. Black plays Winawer:

Your main attack against the Winawer is Qg4.

I'm a simple thinker - I normally play Qxg7, Qxh7, Q back to g7, and I push Harry to become a queen. (Harriete?)

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2. Black plays main line:

3. Black plays Rubinstein:

Play the Exchange var and wait till they blunder in-between naps. That's what people did when I played the French ...

im pretty sure Bd2 isn't a mainline option against the winawer

French is too strong that even engines have winning chances with black against other engines. It's also Stockfish's best response against e4.

Play the Exchange 3. exd5 if you are not comfortable with a Close center.