Here is a variation I created although I am the only player who exclusively plays this variation as far as I can tell. I have been quite successful with this variation. This variation can neutralize black's counterplay and make for a very slow game with lots of maneuvering.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.b3
I second the suggestions to the KIA. Also, I like to play a line very similar to the Blackmar-Deimer Gambit
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.b3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Ke2! is my continuation.
As a french player, I will tell you this: nothing is more irritating than just exchanging central pawns right away. I don't play the French to put an open file in front of my king, I play the French so I can watch people batter themselves to pieces against my fortress!
after just switching to e4 a little ago, Im in the same situation. I was thinking of playing the advance variation, but then was considering tons of theory and playing Nc3..
playing the dragon and grunfeld as black, I should be good in the KIA as well then right?
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.b3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Ke2! is my continuation.
I think that, if the White has to move the King (as sometimes happens in the Advance), he should have a field on f1. In a Nimzovitch game, the White then plays g3 and Kg2, castling manually.
As a french player, I will tell you this: nothing is more irritating than just exchanging central pawns right away. I don't play the French to put an open file in front of my king, I play the French so I can watch people batter themselves to pieces against my fortress!
I have to confess the exchange variation also soured me on the french. Not because it's effective or aggressive, but because it takes the game into a more balanced and open position that is hard for either side to press a concrete advantage. Masters of the french defense are unimpressed with the exchange variation, but I have seen some of them even attempt to avoid it by playing the inferior Qxd5 move. One notable example is GM Hikaru Nakamura, whom played Qxd5 a couple years ago against another master and was in a worse position for most of the game. Eventually he worked himself out of the hole and played on to win using his stronger skill at creating complications with the lopsided pawn structures.
Ive also considered the exchange just to break balls. was reading a good site from a master who seemed to have deep knowledge on it, I will have to find that guy
I find that if white is playing the exchange, they often want a draw or play it out of ignorance of the french, which means that it's more out of desperation. These people can usually be outplayed if you demonstrate superior skill.
Think of it this way: you're black, and you've (pretty much) equalized on move 3. That's pretty nice, and so if white ever slips up he will be worse. All you have to do to get imbalances in the exchange is to pick a different piece placement than your opponent, also try to castle on the opposite side. For example, what I do against the exchange is play ...Bd6 and ...Bg4, but often develop the king knight to e7 to avoid a pin myself. In this way I get a nice bishop and a pin on the knight without having to face a pin myself. This goes very well together with queenside castling and maybe some pawn storming. Even in a worst case scenario when white manages to also castle queenside successfully, with the way the bishops aim at the kingside you could still probably do a positional attack there.
The french is annoying as white for me :(
Really, all it takes is to get away from the advance variation. The exchange (e4 e6, d4 d5, xd5 xd5) is fine, but never something to play when in a tournament or game against a weaker player when you need to win. Main lines work best for me at least. e4 e6, d4 d5, Nc3 is the time tested method.
King's Indian Attack is effective against the French Defense
I saw a game of GM Oleg Romanishin against the French where he employed 2. Qe2
I'm still searching the net for some viable lines 1. e4 e6 2. Qe2..
2. Qe2 was played by Kasparov in a couple of games.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.b3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Ke2! is my continuation.
This line scores 12 % for white according to my database.... NOT a very good line/choice for white .
Sometimes white specializes in the exchange and is neither ignorant or desperate. I've faced that before and it's not fun at all for french defense players.
Exactly. At the master level, the Exchange variation is theoretically better for black than any of white's other options, because it lets black equalize immediately. That and the balanced pawn structure are why it leads to so many GM draws. But at the amateur level, the player who has better knowledge of the opening line being played will have an advantage, regardless of the theoretical strength of the opening (as long as it isn't something absolutely awful).
And as pointed out above, French players hate playing the Exchange variation. It's just not the kind of game they're looking for when they choose the French. If they wanted that kind of balanced, open game, they'd play e5 instead of e6.
So I recommend learning to play the Exchange well. You'll frustrate most of your opponents, even if you don't necessarily beat them.
Sometimes white specializes in the exchange and is neither ignorant or desperate. I've faced that before and it's not fun at all for french defense players.
I'm sure they pop up from time to time (I know, I'm not taking it seriously; in my experience this is very rare in fact, mostly because the exchange is not particularly promising from an objective point of view so it's usually played to get a safe, at least somewhat open game), but very little in my experience. If white specializes in something, it's more likely to be a main line but of course there are cases like what you describe.
That's a worst case scenario, and that is you get equality and not necessarily more but again if you want a win you can make some imbalances, especially the king position but also piece placement. I'm personally pretty comfortable with the opposite side castling positions, but to be honest even with a different piece setup even a more strategic player like me would have a tough time making any progress (if I want to win) if both kings are on the same side.
Sometimes white specializes in the exchange and is neither ignorant or desperate. I've faced that before and it's not fun at all for french defense players.
Exactly. At the master level, the Exchange variation is theoretically better for black than any of white's other options, because it lets black equalize immediately. That and the balanced pawn structure are why it leads to so many GM draws. But at the amateur level, the player who has better knowledge of the opening line being played will have an advantage, regardless of the theoretical strength of the opening (as long as it isn't something absolutely awful).
And as pointed out above, French players hate playing the Exchange variation. It's just not the kind of game they're looking for when they choose the French. If they wanted that kind of balanced, open game, they'd play e5 instead of e6.
So I recommend learning to play the Exchange well. You'll frustrate most of your opponents, even if you don't necessarily beat them.
Well, black players most likely know the exchange better too because I'm sure they're usually more exposed in that opening than most white players.
French player discrimination? Although you are right that this isn't exactly what french players are looking for I am pretty happy with easy equality too. With equality that early on, black has many more options to develop than if he had to play many more moves to equalize. I wouldn't compare this to say equalizing against the scotch, as black hasn't even had to work and can choose a plan rather freely with equality on move 3. Yes, you have to know what you're doing either way but it's not that difficult to learn.
Having played the French for 15 years, I agree that the exchange takes a lot of life out of the French, however, I found the lines where black playes Ne7 then f6, especially after Bg5 tend to surprise white and can be fun. Still, the exchange is part of what chased me back to the Sicilian.
The KIA is effective against the French if black complies with white's plans and castles kingside, right into the attack. However, French players have begun to realize they can either leave the king in the center a long time (after white's e5 it takes him/her some time to get to black's king) or castle queeenside and throw his kingside pawns down the board at white.
Either method can be unpleasant for the KIA player because it takes away his easy plan and the goal of his traditional attack.
I have a lot of trouble winning as white against the french, I am wondering if there is anyone who does analysis on it or can show me winning lines.