Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e6/2. d4/2...d5/3. Nc3/3...Bb4/4. e5/4...c5/5. a3/5...Ba5/6. b4/6...cxd4

French defence: Winawer variation C16 Retreat variation 6...cxd4 · Armenian line By taking on d4, both White's knight and Black's bishop are now hanging. White has two popular responses in this position. 7. Nb5 threatens the d4-pawn and eyes c7. It can potentially move to d6, where it can't be pushed away by pawns. With the bishop still hanging, Black should retreat it. 7...Bb6 protects the d4-pawn, but not d6, where White will be able to put an uncontested knight. Therefore 7...Bc7 is more preferable, gaining a tempo on White's e5-pawn. After 8. f4, protecting the pawn, both sides should do fine with basic developing moves. White does generally exchange the knight for the dark-squared bishop when threatened (after 8...Bd7 9. Nxc7+ for example). 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Ba5 6. b4 cxd4 7. Nb5 Bc7 8. f4 Ne7 9. Nf3 Bd7 1 8...Ne7 9. Nf3 Bd7 and White should trade the knight for Black's dark-squared bishop. 7. Qg4 is more aggressive. White leaves their knight hanging for now, and focuses on attacking Black's kingside, where the bishop is no longer defending. Black can't take the knight, since after 7...dxc3?? 8. Qxg7 Bc7 9. Qxh8 +++ White is up a rook and Black's king is in danger. 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Ba5 6. b4 cxd4 7. Qg4 Ne7 8. bxa5 dxc3 9. Qxg7 Rg8 10. Qxh7 Nbc6 1 right The position has some similarity to the poisoned pawn variation, but White has advanced the a-pawn all the way to a5, playing a very important role in potentially ravaging Black's queenside. Instead, Black can respond with either 7...Ne7, playing in a style similar to the poisoned pawn variation, or with 7...Kf8. After 7...Ne7 8. bxa5 dxc3 9. Qxg7 Rg8 10. Qxh7 Nbc6 Black is in a lot of trouble. Black may try to castle queenside, but White has the looming threat of a6, after which Black will have a severely weakened queenside no matter their response. If 7...Kf8 8. Nb5!? Bb6 and White's knight is placed beautifully on Black's queenside. No matter which way you slice it, the position looks very daunting for Black. Note that 7. bxa5? isn't great. after 7...dxc3 8. Qg4 Kf8 Black isn't under much pressure at all. If the bishop and the knight had still been there, it would have been much more dangerous for Black. History This variation gets its name from being used by the Armenian grandmasters Rafael Vaganian and Smbat Lputian.The French Defence: a Complete Black Repertoire 2010 Chess Stars 182 978-954-8782-76-0 Vitiugov Nikita Nikita_Vitiugov Ermenkov Evgenij Soloviov Sergeyhttps://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?page=7&node=120034 chessgames position search www.chessgames.com 9 February 2026 It has, however, been employed quite frequently before attaining this name, becoming popular in the 1950s.https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?page=1&node=120034 It had been deployed most notably in the world championship match between Vasily Smyslov and Mikhail Botvinnik.Smyslov - Botvinnik, Moscow URS, rd. 1, 1954 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1032326 www.chessgames.com 9 February 2026Smyslov - Botvinnik, Moscow URS, rd. 3, 1954 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1032342 www.chessgames.com 9 February 2026 Theory table 0 7. Nb5 Bc7 8. f4 Bd7 9. Nxc7+ Qxc7 + 7. Qg4 Ne7 8. bxa5 dxc3 9. Qxg7 Rg8 10. Qxh7 Nbc6 11. Nf3 Qc7 12. Bf4 + 7. ... Kf8 8. Nb5 Bb6 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. Bb2 + References French Defence Winawer_Variation:_3.Nc3_Bb4 See also