Understanding Over Memorization: A Complete Answer to 3.Nc3 Nf6
The variation that defines this course carries the name of Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Champion, who played the space-grabbing 4.e5 with the white pieces.
Yet his ideas serve both colors equally well. Steinitz's lasting contribution to chess was not a single line but a way of seeing: every pawn advance gains something and gives something up, and the side who reads the resulting imbalance correctly chooses the right plan.
In The French Steinitz: A Complete Repertoire for Black, GM Harshit Raja applies exactly that teaching from the other side of the board. White's e5–f4 wedge gains space on the kingside, but it fixes the center in place, and Black answers by striking at its base with ...c5 and expanding on the queenside, where White has committed least.
Understanding Over Memorization
The 3.Nc3 move order is widely regarded as White's most dangerous try against the French Defense. It is also the line where Black most often feels obliged to memorize long forcing sequences.
GM Harshit Raja deliberately takes another route. His repertoire rests on strategic understanding: Black meets the main line with ...c5 and ...Nc6, then follows with the flexible ...a6, preparing ...b5 and queenside space of his own.
This plan gives Black a clear direction across all of White's setups. Whether White aims for a slow positional grind, solidifies d4 with Ne2 and c3, or chooses the sharpest continuations, Black's ideas remain consistent and recognizable.
The Author's Reasoning
GM Harshit Raja built this course as a practical, complete solution to 3.Nc3 after 3...Nf6.
His verdicts are concrete. Against early deviations like 4.exd5, he finds that White has no advantage at all. Against the increasingly popular 5.Nce2 setups, he notes that their rising popularity does not change their objective value: the position remains equal.
In the main lines, the author does not shy away from the most demanding tests. After 8.Qd2 b5, the critical 9.dxc5 and 9.Ne2 receive their own chapter, where Black must organize dynamic counterplay.
Beyond 4.e5, the repertoire also covers 4.Bg5. Here GM Raja recommends 4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7, which he considers the most challenging setup: Black protects the f6-knight and prepares ...c5.
Map of Variations
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6
- 4.exd5 and other rare sidelines → Chapter 1
- 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nf3 h6
- 7.Bxf6 and 7.Bh4 → Chapter 2
- 7.Nxf6+ → Chapter 3
- 4.e5 Nfd7
- 5.Nce2 and other rare tries → Chapter 4
- 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6
- 8.Be2 and other sidelines → Chapter 5
- 8.a3 → Chapter 6
- 8.Ne2 → Chapter 7
- 8.Qd2 b5
- 9.Be2 and other rare tries → Chapter 8
- 9.a3 → Chapter 9
- 9.dxc5 and 9.Ne2 → Chapter 10
Course Features
- 10 chapters
- 20 test positions
- Memory Booster
- To Go version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
Two Answers to 3.Nc3
GM Harshit Raja has also created The French Winawer: A Dynamic Repertoire for Black, which offers a different answer to the same move: 3...Bb4, with its sharper, more unbalanced character.
Together, the two courses give Black a genuine choice against 3.Nc3. The Steinitz relies on structure and flexible queenside expansion, while the Winawer leans into imbalance and dynamic play.
Completing the French Repertoire
For White's other main options, two further courses close the remaining gaps in a French repertoire for Black.
Against 3.e5, French Defense for Black - Complete Solution against the Advance Variation - Part 3 provides a full treatment of the Advance Variation.
Against 3.Nd2 and 3.exd5, French Defense for Black - Tarrasch and Exchange - Part 4 covers both the Tarrasch and the Exchange Variation.
Start Playing the Steinitz French
If you want a reliable, idea-driven answer to 3.Nc3, one that holds up from the quiet sidelines to the most testing main lines, The French Steinitz: A Complete Repertoire for Black gives you a full repertoire built on understanding rather than pure recall.
Explore the course and take Steinitz's own way of seeing the board into your games with the black pieces.