The French Defense

French is a very solid opening. It used to be my main response to 1. e4 and I rarely lost with it, but wins where also not too common. So having a second opening in the repertoire against e4 absolutely makes sense, especially if for games you really need to win, and I would look for something more agressive.

I have always played the French against 1.e4 players to make them feel uncomfortable (no tactic at start). That's the same reason why I play the king's indian defence to shake 1.d4 "papy-style" players.

With time, I worked a lot on the French and I got taste for agressive (but not dubious) play. There is always a way to play for blood with Black on the French defence, even on the ultra-boring Exchange variation (ask Alekhine - amazing to study).

It's dull by reputation and if you want it this way, but you can play it to get a full point without shame.

The French is dull? Solid? Huh? I need to go away and rethink everything I know about chess. I thought the French was a crazy defence. Whenever I'm against the French I seem to be sacrificing everything and mating Black and that's not a typical reflection of how I usually play.

Well, I personaly have enough work and excitement with my entire repertoire. I don't want to get a burnout. ;)

@lasker thats exactly why I avoid it. too many tactical ideas and sharp lines.

what do you guys do against 2Qe2?

I definitely wouldn't call it dull, but it does have the reputation for solidity. The Exchange obviously is very dull and can be difficult to create any sort of dynamism as either side.

Compared to the main alternatives of Open Game or Sicilian, what about the French seems crazy to you? It's semi-closed, tends toward piece maneuvers and such. A tough nut to crack and if Black knows his stuff, he can catch White in some nasty traps.

2...c5 or 2...Be7 look simple and good.

Even 2...d5 should be fine since 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nc3 and the tempo gained on Black's queen is no big deal since White's Queen is also misplaced and he must spend a tempo moving it soon anyway.

I have never in my life played the French Defence, which is the dullest of all openings. Wilhelm Steinitz

I have played the french as black for decades , I have suffered a lot with it and been crushed too many times , but along the way I have also won and drawn some nice games and become addicted to it ... its my " backup" against 1 e4 . ( I play sicilians more these days ) 

https://www.chess.com/forum/search?keyword=French

The French Defense chess opening is good for surprise value.  The main reason why chess GMs do not use it regularly because black gets a passive middlegame.

I use to play the advance variation, but now I play the exchange variation. The advance variation loses for me.You used it to beat me.

I have never in my life played the French Defense, but if I ever do, I will definitely play the McCutcheon variation. Both Stockfish and the statistics in chess.com's Opening Explorer prefer black's position at the end of the following line, where white plays the most popular move throughout.

Actually I misremembered Stockfish's analysis of the position above after 11... Nc6. It gave a depth 43 evaluation of 0.00, but only if white follows up with the rare 12. Qf4. With any other response it prefers black.

Man up and play the Winawer.

1. e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6, 3. f4 exf4, 4. d4 d5 5. exd5 Qh4+  6. Ke2

So much for Steinitz's judgement about openings!

I go back and forth between e5 and e6 as my main response to 1. e4. These days, I'm leaning towards the French most often.

I play the MacCutcheon when it comes up, but rarely see the book lines. Even players up to class B USCF (1600-1800) have often never seen it, and don't know how to react, so we're out of book by move 6. Which works out well for me as black, since I've seen those typical responses over and over, and know how to deal with them.

I really like GM Simon Williams' recommendations for the Advance and some other variations in his Killer French DVDs. Very aggressive stuff there. None of the boring, cramped positions I used to get before I really learned how to play the French properly.

was part of my chess education!

While I agree that the exchange variation is dull and the advance variation is protracted trench warfare, Black also has the option of the Winawer variation which is one of the most imbalanced chess openings ever. White gets the bishop pair in exchange for doubled pawns  and a semi open b file. Black has a strong pawn center and the option of either attacking a weak white e pawn, or gets a semi open g file with a strong kingside attack. Blacks king is also somewhat  exposed. Both sides have big opportunities. Very few games end in a draw.

If White plays 3. Nd2 then Black can counter with a quick  3...c5. Black gets an isolated pawn but what better way to get practice with the "isolated  queen's pawn" for attack.

The French also has the advantage of giving rise to one of the best spolier openings, the Fort Knox Defence. 1.e4...e6. 2 d4....d5. 3 Nc3/ Nd2....dxe4 and then 4....Bd7, to go to c6 

I play the French because it can give rise to many possible types of positions. From the opposite side castling of the WInawer, to the IQP of the Tarrasch to the pawn chains of the Classical variation.