Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e6/2. d4/2...d5/3. Nc3
| French Defence: Main line | |
|---|---|
|
a b c d e f g h 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 a b c d e f g h | |
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) | |
| Moves: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 | |
French Defence: Main line
[edit | edit source]3.Nc3 is White's most popular move against the French at the top level, and is considered the most challenging option. White develops a piece and keeps the diagonals open for both bishops (unlike 3.Nd2, the Tarrasch Variation), as well as putting pressure on the d5 pawn and protecting the e4 pawn. Black has 4 main options now: Nf6 (The Classical Variation), Bb4 (The Winawer Variation), dxe4 (The Rubinstein Variation), and c5, entering into the Sicilian by some players or French with others with the Marshall Gambit.
Approximate Chances
[edit | edit source]Masters
[edit | edit source]White wins: 36% | Draw: 41% | Black wins: 23%
Lichess
[edit | edit source]White wins: 50% | Draw: 5% | Black Wins: 45%
Theory table
[edit | edit source].
| 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3.Nc3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | ||
| Classical Defence | ... Nf6 |
Bg5 Be7 | = |
| Winawer Variation | ... Bb4 |
e5 c5 | = |
| Rubinstein variation | ... dxe4 |
Nxe4 Nd7 | = |
| Marshall Gambit | ... c5 |
Nf3 Cxd4 | = |
| ...
... | exd5
exd5 | +/= |
References
[edit | edit source] | Wikipedia has related information at French Defence. |
- Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.
1. e4 ...other: