A Fighting Answer to 3.Nc3
For most of its history, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 has been White's most challenging option against the French. It's the most common move here, and against 3...Nf6 it opens the door to the Steinitz Variation with 4.e5. In Creative French Repertoire for Black – Part 2, GM Renato Quintiliano and GM Yago Santiago don't play it safe for equality — they hand White a problem the engine tends to underrate.
The idea that sums up the course comes deep in the main line: 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Qb6 8.Na4 Qa5+ 9.c3 b6 10.Bd2 c4 11.b4 Nxb4! 12.cxb4 Bxb4 — two pawns and a three-to-one pawn majority on the queenside for the piece. The engine says White is better, and the authors don't dispute it. But that's not the whole story at the board: White's pieces stay tangled, the extra piece is hard to bring into play, and the defender has to solve real problems on every move.
A Repertoire Built to Fight
Santiago built his career on the French as a practical weapon that puts opponents under pressure from move three. Quintiliano, known for his solid openings, was doubtful about several of these lines until his own analysis won him over. That mix of imagination and careful checking is why the recommendations hold up.
Instead of the Winawer (too complex) or 3...dxe4 (too passive), they go with the classical 3...Nf6 and head straight into the main lines. Against 4.Bg5, Black plays 4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 and, after 6.Bxf6, takes back with 6...gxf6 — the ambitious try, keeping the bishop pair and getting ready for ...f5 to fight over the centre.
Variation Map
The starting point: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6
Against 4.e5 (Steinitz Variation):
4...Nfd7
- Rare fourth moves and 4.Bd3 → Chapter 1
- 5.Nf3 → Chapter 2
- 5.Nce2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nf3 → Chapter 3
- 5.Nce2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.f4 → Chapter 4
- 5.f4 c5 6.dxc5 (Caruana) → Chapter 5
- 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.a3 (Caruana) and 7.Bd3 (Aronian) → Chapter 6
- 7.Be3 Qb6 8.Qd2, 8.a3 and sidelines → Chapter 7
- 8.Na4 Qa5+ 9.c3 b6 10.a3, 10.Kf2 → Chapter 8
- 10.Bd2 c4 11.b4 Nxb4 12.cxb4 Bxb4 → Chapter 9
Against 4.Bg5 (Classical Variation):
4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7
- 6.Nxf6+ Bxf6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 → Chapter 10
- 6.Bxf6 gxf6 7.Qd2 and 7.Qd3 → Chapter 11
- 7.Nc3 and move-7 sidelines → Chapter 12
- 7.Nf3 f5 8.Nc3 a6 9.Qe2 and 9.Qd2 → Chapter 13
- 9.g3 b5 10.Bg2 Bb7 11.O-O → Chapter 14
Course Features
- 14 chapters
- 30 test positions
- Memory Booster
- To Go version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
Completing the French Project
Part 2 is the second half of a two-part project. Creative French Repertoire for Black – Part 1 covered the Tarrasch (3.Nd2, 3...h6!?) and the Advance (3.e5, 3...c5 and 5...Qc7!?). Part 2 handles the last main move, 3.Nc3, with 3...Nf6 in both forms — the Steinitz after 4.e5 and the Classical after 4.Bg5 — giving one steady, fighting answer to White's main tries against the French.
If you play the French, or want a combative reply to 1.e4 that rewards understanding over memorization, this is the volume that shuts the door on 3.Nc3. Learn the Steinitz from Black's side, and start posing the problems yourself.
INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHORS
SAMPLE CHAPTER
SAMPLE VIDEO