Awesome thanks Yangyang! What rating range do you recommend the French to?
Polgyglots
'The French Defence. In my younger years I used to consider it at best a second-rate opening, and I once even lost a bet with one of my friends, and as a result had to play 1... e6 in all my games with Black in a Super-GM tournament. Fortunately my friend was greedy, and took money instead. I believe that both 1...c5 and 1...e5! are better choices, but since I desperately wanted to win this game (I was trailing the leaders Kramnik and Shirov by 1 point at this stage) I decided to try something new.' - Carlsen 2010
'The French Defence. In my younger years I used to consider it at best a second-rate opening, and I once even lost a bet with one of my friends, and as a result had to play 1... e6 in all my games with Black in a Super-GM tournament. Fortunately my friend was greedy, and took money instead. I believe that both 1...c5 and 1...e5! are better choices, but since I desperately wanted to win this game (I was trailing the leaders Kramnik and Shirov by 1 point at this stage) I decided to try something new.' - Carlsen 2010
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...and since 2010, Carlsen has played the French in 5 LTC games, and countless rapid and blitz ones.
'The French Defence. In my younger years I used to consider it at best a second-rate opening, and I once even lost a bet with one of my friends, and as a result had to play 1... e6 in all my games with Black in a Super-GM tournament. Fortunately my friend was greedy, and took money instead. I believe that both 1...c5 and 1...e5! are better choices, but since I desperately wanted to win this game (I was trailing the leaders Kramnik and Shirov by 1 point at this stage) I decided to try something new.' - Carlsen 2010
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...and since 2010, Carlsen has played the French in 5 LTC games, and countless rapid and blitz ones.
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He will cherry pick one quote or one game and try to run with it like it is gospel. Does it all the time. Reality states otherwise!
French defense has pretty much become extinct at top level long time control otb chess.
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Yep... excluding some very lucky guys like that patzer Caruana, who has 3/3 with the French as Black for the last 12 months.
Carlsen has 4,5/5, but in rapid time controls.
And, in any case: Why a woodpusher should really care what the Super GM's are playing?
@9
Only 1 long time control, the other 2 are fast time controls.
In rapid and blitz and at low levels any opening goes.
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