Beat the French Defense with 3.Nc3

A full repertoire for the whites.

“The French Defense was my main opportunity with the Blacks as I fought for the GM title at the turn of the century. Very often, I was able to use it to drag my opponent into a complicated maze of deep analysis, so I have an intimate knowledge of the tricks used on the other side of the "barricades". This helped me to create a solid foundation for our current repertoire, and many of the ideas presented in the book have also brought me excellent victories against some of the strongest French exponents ”. ~ P. Harikrishna

Nowadays writing a book about openness is always quite demanding, especially on the white side. With powerful engines and mail games available to almost anyone in the world, it's hard to prove an advantage for White. Being able to come up with new ideas and have multiple weapons at your disposal is a definite necessity in modern chess, and besides dealing with various sidelines, this book is really about having a fresh look at the French defense.

The French defense was my main shot with the blacks while fighting for the GM title at the turn of the century. Very often, I was able to use it to drag my opponent into a complicated maze of deep analysis, so I have a deep knowledge of the tricks used on the other side of the barricades. This helped me to create a solid foundation for our current repertoire, and many of the ideas presented in the book have also brought me excellent victories against some of the strongest French exponents.

The variations are ordered according to their importance: if you are looking to start building your repertoire against the French Defence "from scratch", the opening chapters will teach you how to deal with various suboptimal systems that Black may employ. Gradually you'll make your way up to 3... dxe4, 3... Cf6 and 3... Ab4, the more principled systems for black.

I think this approach will also help you build confidence, by first learning how to fight for the upper hand in objectively better circumstances, without having to carry a heavy theory. Not to mention the practical value of learning such lines: these unreliable lines are fairly frequent guests in short-time controls and online blitz.

If you're an advanced reader, you can jump straight to the three most principle-based systems: the slightly passive Rubinstein (3... dxe4) and Black's more combative weapon 3... Cf6 and 3... Ab4. While the book is an ode to new ideas (and you will learn to approach all the main lines with a new approach), I took the liberty of expanding its arsenal by offering both original and conservative (read: more theoretical) alternatives. against 3... Cf6.

In addition to giving you a deep and refreshing look at French Defense, I also hope you gain a broader understanding of how seemingly innocent ideas can often become dangerous, especially from a practical standpoint. In many places, you may find that my recommendation is not the "best" (according to the engines), but I believe in creating the most unpleasant situations for my opponents rather than fighting their computer.

Stay safe, study chess and no longer fear the French defense!