Expert Repertoire against the French Defence
We are happy to announce that the Indian GM Kalyan Arjun comes up with his first project for Modern Chess - Expert Repertoire against the French. This database provides a high-level repertoire based on the principled 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3. In this in-depth investigation, you will find many fascinating novelties. In all the lines, GM Arjun manages to create a lot of practical problems for Black.
The course consists of 12 theoretical chapters, 24 interactive test positions, a Memory Booster, and a Video Version (5h Running Time).
Preview by the Author
The French Defence. This is the third most popular opening for Black after the solid 1...e5 and the more dynamic Sicilian. It kind of combines both their attributes and is a good weapon for Black players to get a complex game. That being said, it does give White much better control over the center and a lot of space. It is definitely not as easy to equalise with Black as in the Najdorf or Berlin. We have a lot of ways to pose difficult problems for Black to solve. Most of the lines that we go for are critical but at the same time less explored - Modern engines have changed the evaluation of some typical ideas.
The starting position of the current repertoire arises after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3
This is the main line and the most principled move in the position. I have always gone for this move throughout my career over 10+ years. In recent times, I have studied these positions quite extensively using cloud engines and there are many nuances which often change the evaluation of the existing theory. I have decided to give up playing chess competitively earlier this year and this is the perfect time for me to share my knowledge here without any restrictions.
The move 3...Bb4 is the most popular continuation in recent times and has been played at the very top level, including the Candidates. It is also more aggressive and generally leads to complex positions with chances for both sides.
Another interesting continuation is 3...Nc6
This is a strange move which has been played by many creative players. In general, Black is almost obliged to go c5 in the French at some point. However here he puts his knight on c6 which is a pretty awkward square. It is somewhat similar to 1...Nc6 and Black's idea is to force us to go for e5. He will then go f6 and try to counter our center.
Against this system, I suggest 4.e5. We have a very good space advantage and we aim to keep the e5 square firmly in our control. There are a few ways to go about this- Bb5-c6 getting rid of the c6 knight, Ne2-f4-d3 reinforcing e5. We will check this and some other sidelines in the final 12th chapter.
Another popular line is 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7
This is called the Rubinstein system and it has been around for a very long time. It is known to be very solid but passive. The advantage for Black is of course that it reduces his workload by a huge amount as he can play the same against 3.Nd2. As in life, the easy choices are usually never the best and I think these positions are very pleasant for White. I came upon two interesting and uncommon ideas in this position and we will take a look at them in the 11th chapter.
After 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Black can also play 4...Bd7.
This is called the Fort Knox variation and is a favourite among "lazy" chess players. I believe that it is a worse version of the Rubinstein variation but I did not have great results when I faced it for the first few times and I do have to take it seriously. Black gives up his light-squared bishop for one of our knights and remains pretty solid. I am a big advocate for the bishop pair and so I am extremely motivated to prove that such a concept should not work :)
Another major line starts with 3...Nf6
This is called the Steinitz Variation. Black provokes us into releasing the tension in the center and wants to fight back with the move c5. At some point, this was the major system in the French, but I think nowadays it has been slightly overtaken in popularity by the Winawer. It is still a very serious system and we will devote 5 chapters to analysing all the different setups for Black.
The main tabiya of this variation is being reached after 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3
Here Black has several options and we will denote the first 3 chapters to analyse all the alternatives to the move 7...cxd4. Black releases the tension quite early. This is the 2nd most popular move and is quite fashionable particularly the 8...Qb6 variation.
Another common move is 7...Qb6. This is the most common way of going for the lines with Qb6 but it is definitely not the best. It has been around for a very long time now and it has been proven that the lines involving a piece sacrifice are not at all dangerous for White. In fact, in many lines, White is close to winning. We will look at this and a couple of other sidelines in the 6th chapter. After 8.Na4 Qa5+ 9.c3, Black has to make a difficult decision regarding his c5 pawn. We will be looking to play the move b4 if given a chance.
With the move 7...Be7 Black prepares to castle next and quickly finish his development. The drawback of this system is that we will be taking on c5 shortly and both recaptures are not ideal. One point that we should keep in mind is that c4 becomes a dangerous idea when we castle queenside as Black will get a pawn storm rolling very quickly. Otherwise, we are pretty happy to see c4 on the board if our king is still in the center. This is the subject of the 7th chapter.
Actually 7...a6 is the most played move in the position. Black prepares to go for b5 immediately and we cannot just castle queenside here since Black's king is reasonably safe in the center. We analyse this deeply in the 8th chapter.
Let's get back to 7...cxd4. After 8.Nxd4, the modern main line start with 8...Qb6.
This is a very forcing line which has become extremely popular these days at the GM level. It is not very common amongst the "traditional" French players but it is something which we should be well aware of. The issue for us is that the objective best lines go along a very linear path and Black is the one who can deviate at some points. However, this will be the biggest chapter by far (10th) and I have devoted a lot of time to give you two different alternatives for every setup. I am really happy with our prospects here and I believe that practically Black faces a lot of problems against our ideas.
The move 8...Bc5 is the most played move in the position but it has been overtaken in popularity by the forcing lines starting with 8...Qb6, particularly at the GM level. We will check this in the 9th chapter. After 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 we are happy to get an opposite side castling middlegame when Black has already released the tension in the center. This makes it much harder for Black to create anything on the queenside.
Let's now get back to 3...Bb4. We play the most principled 4.e5.
Black almost exclusively plays 4...c5 in this position. Another possibility is 4...b6. These lines have always been around and played by a few tricky players. Black wants to trade off the light squared bishops with Ba6 at the right moment. In this case we play 5.h4! This is a very typical idea in the French these days and will be a frequent guest throughout this database. We want to gain space on the kingside and get a bind with the pawns on e5 and h5. We will analyse all the b6 ideas in the 1st chapter.
After 4...c5 5.a3 Black usually plays 5...Bxc3+.
The move 5...Ba5 used to be popular several years ago, but now it has been established that White gets a comfortable edge. There are a few lines which I feel are interesting for Black and have not been properly analysed. We will check this extensively in the 2nd chapter.
The first important tabiya of the Winawer Variation arises after 5.a3 Bxc3 6.bxc3
At this point, Black's main continuation is 6...Ne7 which is the most flexible move, keeping all the options open. I think this is definitely the best system for Black in the Winawer. Here, I have played a number of moves over the years, but there is one system which I am a big fan of and feel that is has been undervalued by most players.
Another interesting move is 6...Qa5 The queen is heading to a4 next in order to clamp down on our queenside and tie our pieces down. This has become popular over the last few years as it leads to typical Winawer positions, while cutting down on the theory in the main lines. However, the queen is definitely not the best piece to be blockading the 'a' pawn when we are looking to start out play on the kingside. My suggestion here is 7.Bd2 Qa4 8.h4!
Once again we are going to push the 'h' pawn down the board, gaining space and also looking to activate the rook along the 'h' file. The d4 pawn is not a concern for us in these lines as Black is behind in development and cannot afford to be greedy. This is the focus of the 3rd chapter.
6...Qc7 will transpose back after 7.Nf3 Ne7 8.a4.
After 6...Nc6 we can try to go Qg4 and refute Black's play but much simpler is to transpose back into our main line with 7.a4 Nge7 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Bd2.
After 6...Ne7, my suggestion is 7.a4!.
This is the third or fourth most popular move in the database and it has not yet been deeply analysed with modern computers. I feel a lot of players do not understand the ideas in the position and I want to change that. We clear the a3 square for bishop and also do not allow Black to get a bind on the queenside.
The main move here is 7...Qa5! This is the best continuation for Black- he is playing more energetically and forcing us to make some concessions. It is definitely a better version compared to Qa5 on the previous move for Black.
In case of 7...b6 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bd3 the move ...Ba4 is no longer possible and we will continue with our development, The bishop is just misplaced on d7.
Another option is 7...Qc7
This can happen also via the 6...Qc7 move order. Here, Black is unable to equalise and we get a very comfortable position. We should play 8.Nf3 b6 9.Bb5+! Bd7 10.Bd3 This is the main line of the 4th chapter. I could not find any way for Black to get close to equality. We will finish our development and start our play on the kingside.
After 7...Qa5! we play 8.Bd2 Nbc6 9.Nf3
There are two broad plans for Black in these positions. He can keep maintaining the tension and even go for the move f6. Here we will go c4 and open up the center, having the bishop pair. The other plan is to play c4 here or on the next move. Then we play our usual h4-h5 and continue our play on the kingside. An important plan is to get our queen to a3 to hold the queenside.
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