The French scores great for me IF i am not facing the advance. Even with the standard moves i find it quite unpleasant to play. Is there any line that easens the pain? :)
It depends what you find painful of course.
But I recommend the off-beat variation 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 b6 to be followed by ...Ba6 and exchanging the bad French bishop. You'll be cramped for a long time, but as a French player you know to expect that anyway.
Watch out for White's possible Qa4+ after they move the c pawn - don't lose a piece on a6.
But I recommend the off-beat variation 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 b6 to be followed by ...Ba6 and exchanging the bad French bishop. You'll be cramped for a long time, but as a French player you know to expect that anyway.
Watch out for White's possible Qa4+ after they move the c pawn - don't lose a piece on a6.
@Brian-E gives an interesting approach. The sequence generally goes: 3...b6 4.c3 Qd7, then Black can follow up with ...Ba6.
Have you considered the Caro-Kann? You can often get similar positions to the French, and you don't have to deal with the advance variation. And even if the Caro-Kann Advance gets played against you, you still have the ability to bring out your light square bishop.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 b6 Puts black down almost a full pawn.....
I gave the classical French up because of the Exchange Var. That's all I ever played... like 10 exchange var to anything else. got extremely boring... to the point my game suffered.
That said the Tarrasch var was the variation I struggled with.
The Advance Var made me smile.
My plan was not to play around ... I always charged up the queen side and waste no tempo doing it. (the French's ability to counter attack is what the Caro Kann advance lacks with the pawn originally at c6. It's the trade off for having the Bishop outside the pawn chain. (having the Bishop outside the pawn chain is a different kind of plus)
After the pawn exchange of d4, I'd get the knight to f5 and deploy the Bishop to d7 with the idea of covering the open c file with a rook and attacking/occupying c4 or b4 or a5 with a Knight or Bishop (supported by either a rook or queen) and then use one of those squares as a jump off point into white's queenside or center. If the white's Bishop took on f5, I just planted the my bad bishop at e6 and used it to anchor a rook at c8. (and played defense with it)
The biggest thing for me when playing the Advance var. Delay castling as long as possible... Knowing when to castle and to what side...
That said the Tarrasch var was the variation I struggled with.
The Advance Var made me smile.
My plan was not to play around ... I always charged up the queen side and waste no tempo doing it. (the French's ability to counter attack is what the Caro Kann advance lacks with the pawn originally at c6. It's the trade off for having the Bishop outside the pawn chain. (having the Bishop outside the pawn chain is a different kind of plus)
After the pawn exchange of d4, I'd get the knight to f5 and deploy the Bishop to d7 with the idea of covering the open c file with a rook and attacking/occupying c4 or b4 or a5 with a Knight or Bishop (supported by either a rook or queen) and then use one of those squares as a jump off point into white's queenside or center. If the white's Bishop took on f5, I just planted the my bad bishop at e6 and used it to anchor a rook at c8. (and played defense with it)
The biggest thing for me when playing the Advance var. Delay castling as long as possible... Knowing when to castle and to what side...
Maybe you dont give up on the French just yet. It a pretty good opening. If you are having trouble against the advance variation, maybe you switch colors for a while and play the the white side of the advance variation against good players who are willing to let you play it. IMO playing training games from the opposite solor of your favorite opening will help make you a better player in serious games playing your usual color.
You can try that with me if you wish, I prefer daily chess because you can take your time to study the openigh, also it better suits my lifestyle. Send me a friend requezt if you would like to give it a try.
Also IMO, the advance variation is not the best way for White to play against the French, so you should be able to do better.
You can try that with me if you wish, I prefer daily chess because you can take your time to study the openigh, also it better suits my lifestyle. Send me a friend requezt if you would like to give it a try.
Also IMO, the advance variation is not the best way for White to play against the French, so you should be able to do better.
Hmm, usually French players love to play against the advance variation because it allows black to play the purest form of the opening ideas (except those who play the Rubinstein).
Not sure what you dislike: Usually the biggest problem is the Bc8. An alternative to the proposal with b6+Ba6 which may fit better to the French concept (quick c5 and queen side pushes) is to play Bc8-d7-b5 and in order to allow Bb5 either Qb6 or a6.
Typical lines would be
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. a3 Bb5
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Bd7 5. Nf3 a6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb5
You will find games of top-players in both lines with the Lichess opening explorer.
Not sure what you dislike: Usually the biggest problem is the Bc8. An alternative to the proposal with b6+Ba6 which may fit better to the French concept (quick c5 and queen side pushes) is to play Bc8-d7-b5 and in order to allow Bb5 either Qb6 or a6.
Typical lines would be
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. a3 Bb5
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Bd7 5. Nf3 a6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb5
You will find games of top-players in both lines with the Lichess opening explorer.
grind the mainlines