The French: the chain is in charge

The key idea

A pawn chain is attacked at its BASE, not at the tip: against a white pawn on e5 supported by d4, the blow is ...c5 against d4. And the c8 bishop is Black's permanent problem — every good move he has, sooner or later, is a move that brings it into the game.

Example 1 · The Advance Variation and the blow at the base

3.e5 closes the centre and builds the d4-e5 chain. Black answers ...c5 at once, and it's no accident.

1. c3 White props up d4, which is the base of his chain. And there's the rule in action: my c5 pawn doesn't attack the e5 pawn — the one that bothers me most, the one taking my space — it attacks d4, the one holding it up. If the base falls, the tip falls on its own.
2. Bd7 First of all, the usual problem. This bishop can't come out along its natural diagonal because my own e6 pawn blocks it, so it comes out through the back door: d7 and then b5 or a4, looking for a trade. Almost the whole art of playing the French is solving this piece.
3. Nf3 White develops, defending d4 a second time.
4. Nc6 And I attack d4 a second time. The whole opening is this count: how many pieces attack the base of the chain and how many defend it. When the attackers outnumber the defenders, White's centre caves in.
5. Be2 Quiet development from White, preparing to castle.
6. Nge7 The knight via e7 and not f6, which would be normal in any other opening. The reason is concrete: on f6 it would clash with my own e6 pawn and with the white pawn on e5 above it; from e7 it's heading for f5, where it presses d4 for the third time. When your own structure occupies a natural square, the piece finds another route — it doesn't stay at home.
7. O-O White tucks the king away.
8. cxd4 And the tension gets resolved at the moment I choose. The position is level and the cards are dealt: White has more space thanks to the e5 pawn, I have a solid centre, the open c-file for my rooks and the bishop already on its way. That's the French in eight moves, with nothing memorised.

Example 2 · From White's side: the space on e5

The Classical with 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7. Now White is teaching: how that extra space gets used.

1. f4 The third pawn of the chain. Now I have d4, e5 and f4 forming a block, with Black short of room to breathe on the kingside. This advance is White's plan in the whole variation: hold e5 with pawns so the pieces are free for something else.
2. c5 Black does what he has to and hits the base. We're watching the same rule as in example 1, from the other side of the board.
3. Nf3 I defend d4 and develop. Every white move here does both things.
4. cxd4 Black trades to relieve the space pressure, which is his problem in this variation.
5. Nxd4 I recapture with the knight, which dominates the centre from d4. Look at the structural balance: my e5 pawn is still standing, taking air away from his kingside, and his c8 bishop still can't come out along its own diagonal.
6. Nc6 Black develops, hitting my knight.
7. Be3 I defend it with the piece that also completes my development. In the French White hardly ever needs spectacular moves: holding e5 and placing pieces is enough.
8. Qb6 Black presses along the diagonal. Honest valuation: I have a bit under half a pawn, which is what the extra space is worth — a more comfortable position to play, with Black cramped but without a single weakness. The French holds; what it doesn't give is a quiet game for either side.

Practice

You're Black in the Advance Variation. White has just propped up d4 with c3. Solve your worst piece and add attackers on the base of his chain.

1. The bad bishop, on its way. Its natural diagonal is blocked by your own e6 pawn, so it comes out through the back door heading for b5 or a4. Deal with the piece your structure leaves shut in: bring it out the back way.
2. Second attacker on d4. The whole opening is this count: attackers against defenders of the base. Develop the b8 knight, hitting the base of his chain.
3. Via e7 and not f6, which is taken by his e5 pawn. From here the knight heads for f5, to press d4 for the third time. The other knight doesn't fit on f6. Find it the route that takes it to f5.
4. And you resolve the tension when it suits you. Open c-file, solid centre and the bishop on its way: the French, played properly. You've built up enough pressure: capture in the centre.

Eight moves without memorising a single variation. Keep the two ideas, which hold in any position in this opening and in many that aren't: a pawn chain is attacked at the base — against d4-e5 you play ...c5, never ...f6 as your first idea — and your worst piece deserves an early move, because in the French the c8 bishop decides whether you have a solid position or a cramped one. If you get the white side, your job is the opposite: hold e5 with pawns and don't let that chain break.