A long slow French Defense tournament which will have small groups, many rounds, and with many advancing.
The French Defense is a sharp counterattacking weapon against white’s first move 1.e4. From black’s first move, he looks to block the a2-g8 diagonal which is usually a big weakness for black and prepares to take control of the light squares in the center after 2….d5. Some of the greatest players of all time have had a hard time playing against the French Defense because it plays so much differently than a normal black defense.