Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e6

French defence C00-C19 King's Pawn Opening 2. d4 · main line 2. d3 · King's Indian attack 1...e6 · French defence 1...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 the d5 square. 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 Black has lost a tempo if they ever want to play ...c5. White can now play 2. d4 and build a two pawn centre―which they almost invariably do89% of games in Lichess's masters database continue 2. d4.―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 main line French with d4 (e.g. 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4, the exchange French, or 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 the Paulsen). Developing both knights (2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3) is the Two Knights variation. Uncommon sidelines include: 2. c4, the Steiner variation, adding control to d5. This can lead to the Orthoschnapp gambit if after 2...d5 3. cxd5 exd5 White plays 4. Qb3 instead of recapturing the pawn. 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. 2. f4, the La Bourdonnais variation. 2. Bb5?!, the Bird Invitation, pinning the d-pawn to prevent d5. History The French defence is so named for its appearance in a 19th century correspondence game between the London and Paris chess clubs. Theory Table 1. e4 e6 2 3 4 5 Main line d4d5 Nc3Nf6 Bg5Be7 e5Nfd7 = Main line / Transposition Nc3d5 d4Nf6 Bg5Be7 e5Nfd7 = King's Indian Attack d3d5 Nd2Nf6 Ngf3b6 g3dxe4 = Two Knights Variation Nf3d5 Nc3d4 Ne2c5 b4e5 ∞ Chigorin Variation Qe2c5 Nf3Nc6 g3g6 Bg2Bg7 = Rubinstein Variation d4d5 Nc3dxe4 Nxe4Nd7 Nf3Ngf6 -= French Defence References