[2] The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, although some lines such as the Winawer Variation can lead to sharp complications.
Black has more space on the queenside, so tends to focus on that side of the board, almost always playing ...c7–c5 early on to attack White's pawn chain at its base, and may follow up by advancing the a- and b-pawns.
In addition, many French Advance lines do not provide White with the time to play f2–f4 as it does not support the heavily pressured d4-pawn.
and the knight will go to f5 to place fatal pressure on d4 and dxc5 will never be an option as the white king would be stuck in the centre of the board after ...Bxc5.
where Black has three minor pieces for the queen, a slight material superiority, but has a vulnerable king and White has good attacking chances.
Apart from a piece attack, White may play for the advance of the kingside pawns (an especially common idea in the endgame), which usually involves f2–f4, g2–g4 and then f4–f5 to use the spatial advantage on that side of the board.
One of the drawbacks of the French Defence for Black is the queen's bishop, which is blocked in by the pawn on e6 and can remain passive throughout the game.
Teichmann, San Sebastián 1912, in which the diagrammed position was reached after fifteen moves of a Classical French.
In order to avoid this fate, Black usually makes it a priority early in the game to find a useful post for the bishop.
White normally clarifies the central situation for the moment with 4.e5, gaining space and hoping to show that Black's b4-bishop is misplaced.
White has a spatial advantage on the kingside, where Black is even weaker than usual because he has traded off his dark-square bishop.
Combined with the bishop pair, this gives White attacking chances, which he must attempt to use as the long-term features of this pawn structure favour Black.
However, here Black has the bishop pair, with greater dynamic chances (although White's knight is well placed on e4), so this line is more popular than the Rubinstein and has long been a favourite of Evgeny Bareev.
White has freer development and more space in the centre, which Black intends to neutralise by playing ...c7–c5 at some point.
This solid line has undergone a modest revival, featuring in many grandmaster (GM) games as a drawing weapon but theory still gives White a slight edge.
After 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4, Black has the following options: 3...Nc6 is the Hecht Reefschlager Variation, a name coined by John Watson.
Like 3.Nc3, 3.Nd2 protects e4, but is different in several key respects: it does not block White's c-pawn from advancing, which means he can play c3 at some point to support his d4-pawn.
On the other hand, 3.Nd2 develops the knight to an arguably less active square than 3.Nc3, and in addition, it hems in White's dark-square bishop.
Hence, White will typically have to spend an extra tempo moving the knight from d2 at some point before developing said bishop.
The main line of the Advance Variation continues 3...c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 and then we have a branching point: There are alternative strategies to 3...c5 that were tried in the early 20th century such as 3...b6, intending to fianchetto the bad bishop and which can transpose to Owen's Defence.
Many players who begin with 1.e4 find that the French Defence is the most difficult opening for them to play against due to the closed structure and unique strategies of the system.
[16] To create genuine winning chances, White will often play c2–c4 at some stage to put pressure on Black's d5-pawn.
This occurs in lines such as 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4 (played by GMs Normunds Miezis and Maurice Ashley) and 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4, which may transpose to the Petroff.
The Lengfellner System is usually adopted by players who wish to reach a stable position while avoiding opening theory.
[20] The French Defence is named after a match played by correspondence between the cities of London and Paris in 1834[1] (although earlier examples of games with the opening do exist).
The first world chess champion Wilhelm Steinitz said "I have never in my life played the French Defence, which is the dullest of all openings".
Historically important contributors to the theory of the defence include Mikhail Botvinnik, Viktor Korchnoi, Akiba Rubinstein, Aron Nimzowitsch, Tigran Petrosian, Lev Psakhis, Wolfgang Uhlmann and Rafael Vaganian.
The Advance declined in popularity, however, throughout most of the 20th century until it was revived in the 1980s by GM and prominent opening theoretician Evgeny Sveshnikov, who continued to be a leading expert in this line.
In recent years, it has become nearly as popular as 3.Nd2; GM Alexander Grischuk has championed it successfully at the highest levels.
It is also a popular choice at the club level due to the availability of a simple, straightforward plan involving attacking chances and extra space.