French Flashcards
What is our basic setup against the French?
After 1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, we do NOT exchange pawns, but play Bd3 (Schlechter Variation). This move avoids all the main lines, and in many variations allows us to play against the weak French bishop on c8.
What do we play against 3…dxe4?
We play 4. Bxe4 Nf6, 5. Bf3. Our strategy is to play against the bishop on c8 with our monster bishop on f3. In many variations we will castle long. We defend d4 with pieces (Ne2, Be3) to avoid an IQP.
In the 3…dxe4 variation what do we do if a lot of exchanges happen on d4?
We go for a queen exchange and a better endgame. Black still has the bad bishop on c8 and we have two strong bishop on f3 and d4, bombarding the queenside.
What do we play against 3…Nf6?
We push e5. Then we play Ne2. Our plan is to attack on the kingside: 0-0, f4, f5, Ng3, Qg4 and attacking the king with two bishops, the knight and a queen.
What do we do if Black plays 5…c5 in the 3…Nf6 variation?
We play c3, defending our important d4 pawn. We also give the bishop on d3 a good square on c2 if Black pushes c4 or attacks d4 another time. We can then set up a battery by playing Qd3, provoking g6 and pushing the h-pawn.
What do we play after 3…c5?
We take exd5 to create an IQP. We then play against the IQP with Nf3, Nd2-Nb3.
What do we play if in the 3…c5 variation, Black tries to avoid an IQP by playing 4…Qxd5?
We play Nc3 attacking the queen with a tempo, offering a pawn sacrifice. After Qxd4?6.Nb5! as always if the black queen goes for a walk, we can in many cases attack the weak c7 square!
What do we play against anything else?
We always play Ne2. We will often get a transposition, and we have our usual plans.
