Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e6
| French defence | |
|---|---|
|
a b c d e f g h 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 a b c d e f g h | |
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) | |
| Moves: 1. e4 e6 | |
| ECO code: C00-C19 | |
| Parent: King's Pawn Opening | |
1...e6 · French defence
edit1...e6 is the French Defence. Black plans to gain space in the centre with their d pawn. If they were to play d5 immediately, White could take it, so first Black supports d5 with another pawn move. This way, they can recapture and keep a pawn on d5.
The trade-off in supporting d5 with e6 is that it obstructs Black's queen-side bishop and makes it harder to develop. In the Caro-Kann on the other hand, 1...c6 is played to prepare the way for d5, where Black avoids the "French bishop" but with the trade off that c6 prevents developing Nc6, and they lose tempo if they ever want to play c5.
White can now play 2. d4 and build a two pawn centre―which they almost invariably do[1]--and Black can continue 2...d5.
2. d3 is a sideline, the King's Indian Attack.
2. Nf3 or 2. Nc3 are sometimes seen. These usually transpose into a mainline French with d4 (e.g. 2. Nf6 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4, the exchange French, or 2. Nc6 d5 3. d4 the Paulsen).
Uncommon sidelines include:
- 2. c4, the Steiner variation, adding control to d5.
- 2. Qe2, the Chigorin variation.
- 2. b3, the Horwitz attack, preparing to fianchetto.
- 2. e5?!, the Steinitz attack.
- 2. Bc4?! invites 2...d5 with tempo.
History
editThe French defence is so named for its appearance in a 19th century correspondence game between the London and Paris chess clubs.
Theory Table
edit
| 1. e4 e6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Main line | d4 d5 |
Nc3 Nf6 |
Bg5 Be7 |
e5 Nfd7 |
= |
| Main line / Transposition | Nc3 d5 |
d4 Nf6 |
Bg5 Be7 |
e5 Nfd7 |
= |
| King's Indian Attack | d3 d5 |
Nd2 Nf6 |
Ngf3 b6 |
g3 dxe4 |
= |
| Two Knights Variation | Nf3 d5 |
Nc3 d4 |
Ne2 c5 |
b4 e5 |
∞ |
| Chigorin Variation | Qe2 c5 |
Nf3 Nc6 |
g3 g6 |
Bg2 Bg7 |
= |
| Rubinstein Variation | d4 d5 |
Nc3 dxe4 |
Nxe4 Nd7 |
Nf3 Ngf6 |
-= |
References
edit- ↑ 89% of games in Lichess's masters database continue 2. d4.
- Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.
- Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14. 1999. Nick de Firmian, Walter Korn. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.
- Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.