The French 3.Nc3: A Repertoire Built on Fresh Ground
For a hundred years, the French has been the opening where the defender knows the ground better than the attacker. The Winawer and the Steinitz have been mapped move by move for generations, and the French specialist arrives at the board expecting White to be the first to run out of memory. The French 3.Nc3: A Complete Repertoire for White was built to reverse that expectation.
The method is not to out-analyse a century of theory but to step around it. In every principal line the repertoire turns toward positions with a few hundred games in the database rather than tens of thousands — places where understanding the plan matters more than recalling the next fifteen moves, and where Black is left to think independently remarkably early.
A fresh direction in every line
The move that defines the course is 6.dxc5 in the Steinitz, reached after 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5. Everyone knows 6.Nf3 and the theory that follows it; 6.dxc5 has roughly 550 games, yet it already features in the practice of Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, Nepomniachtchi and Lodici.
The engines assess it as equal for Black. Over the board it is a different task: Black has to find precise sequences they are very unlikely to have studied, and playing by general principles is not enough.
The same philosophy carries into the Winawer, where 3...Bb4 is met by an early h4–h5, Rh3 and Qg4 — a direct attack on both wings instead of a theoretical duel. Authors GM Jose Martinez Alcantara and IM Dragos Ceres are explicit about the choice: this is chess with a clear target and the initiative on White's side. The pair applied the same practical, low-theory approach against 1...c5 in their Jospem versus the Sicilian series.
Variation map
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3
3...Nf6 — The Steinitz: 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.dxc5
- 6...Nc6 7.Bd2 Nxc5 8.Nf3 Be7 9.Be3 → Chapter 6
- 7...Qh4+ 8.g3 Qd8 9.Nf3 → Chapter 4
- 7...Bxc5 8.Qg4 O-O 9.Nf3 → Chapter 5
- 6...Nxc5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.a3 → Chapter 1
- 6...Bxc5 7.Qg4 O-O 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Qh3 (novelty) → Chapter 3
- 7...g6 8.Nf3 Nc6 → Chapter 2
3...Bb4 — The Winawer: 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.h4 Qc7 8.h5 h6 9.Rb1 → Chapter 12
- 4...b6 5.h4 h5 6.Rh3 → Chapter 7
- 4...Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 b6 → Chapter 8
- 5...Ba5 — the Armenian line: 6.Qg4 Ne7 7.dxc5 → Chapter 9
- 6...Qa5 7.Bd2 Qa4 8.h4 → Chapter 10
- 7th-move alternatives (7...Qa5 and others) → Chapter 11
3...Nc6 4.Nf3 → Chapter 13
3...a6 and the waiting moves: 4.Bd3 → Chapter 14
3...dxe4 — The Rubinstein: 4.Nxe4 → Chapter 15
Premium course features
This is a Modern Chess Premium course, built as a complete training system:
- 15 theory chapters
- Video instruction throughout
- 50 test positions — critical moments with tactical and strategic solutions
- 5 training positions for interactive practice against the engine
- 3 model games — the ideas shown in high-level play
- 5 things to know — the typical patterns and concepts of the repertoire
- Memory File — the 15 chapters condensed into one, holding the most important lines
- Memory Booster — for long-term recall of the key ideas
- To-Go Version of every chapter — condensed files for fast pre-game review
- Multilingual PGN files — English, German, French and Spanish
- Full download access — all materials are yours to keep
Turn the tables on the French
The French has always rewarded the side that remembers more. The French 3.Nc3: A Complete Repertoire for White shifts that advantage to you — with lines where your opponents will be relying on principles rather than memorized theory, thinking on their own from move six. Start studying today and let the French specialist be the one out of book.