Good books on the playing against the French as White

Hey everyone!

So recently, I've hit a slump where I am having a hard time facing the French Defense and some of the plans it covers. I feel black is getting way too much counterplay and killing me on the queen or ripping apart my pawn centre. 

I want to study the French with 3. Nc3 at a deeper level. Can anyone please suggest some good books on the same?

Much obliged.

A repertoire which is very powerful is the one proposed by Negi :

https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/1/227/grandmaster_repertoire_-_1e4_vs_the_french_caro-kann_and_philidor_by_parimarjan_negi/

Of course, this is an awesome work and u have to be able to swallow all this, but at least I answered your question.

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll refer to this book for the lines that arise from 3....Nf6. In the meantime I'm leaning towards 3...Bb4, 4. e5 followed by Bd2 against the Winawer. What are your thoughts on the same?

Possibly helpful:

My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White by Vincent Moret

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf

A Simple Chess Opening Repertoire for White by Sam Collins
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/A-Simple-Chess-Opening-Repertoire-for-White-76p3916.htm
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/A_Simple_Chess_Opening_Repertoire_for_White.pdf
1.e4 vs. The French, Caro-Kann & Philidor By Parimarjan Negi
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/1-e4-vs-The-French-Caro-Kann-Philidor-76p3875.htm
http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/GMRep-1e4-vol1-excerpt.pdf
How to Beat the French Defence by Andreas Tzermiadianos (2008)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627050257/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen115.pdf
A Chess Opening Repertoire for Blitz and Rapid by Evgeny and Vladimir Sveshnikov

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9020.pdf
Coming soon:
Playing 1.e4 - Sicilian & French by John Shaw

My opinion about a variation you want to play is not important.

Bd2 in Winawer is played by many GM so it can give u an idea about thoughts by very strong players.

About mine, I like it and I think it has good practical value because white plays the positions he/she wants, which is rather easy to handle.

If Black knows what he's doing, the 5.Bd2 line is a complete non-issue.  Problem is, some suckers fall for "normal development" and get killed with Nd6+

The solution for Black is extremely simple!  1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7! and now if 6.Nb5, then trade Bishops (it's with check, no intermezzio for White) and 7.O-O!

PROBLEM SOLVED for Black!

I would recommend studying 5.a3, and you have 4 lines to worry about:

5...Ba5 - Not a lot of theory and not hard to get an advantage as White

5...Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 6...Qa5 followed by 7...Qa4.  This is known as the Hook Variation.  It's got some tricks you need to learn, but it should not be feared

5...Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 - This is to answer 7.Qg4 with 7..f5 instead of sacrificing the pawn.  With what I recommend below this, not an issue.

5...Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 - The main line - and here, instead of the tactical and complicated 7.Qg4, go for the more positional lines, like 7.a4 or 7.Nf3.  I just recently posted a GM game from 1960 with analysis yesterday.  Yes, Black wins, but there were many points where White had improvements and would have gotten an advantage, and they are all pointed out in the notes.

See http://charlottechesscenter.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-french-connection-volume-1.html

And keep up with the Blog.  I write a lot of articles dealing with the French.  I play both sides of it.  Granted, the games I post are a little skewed toward Black from a statistical perspective (i.e. What I post tends to score closer to 55 to 60 percent for Black rather than the normal 46 percent), but the analysis is objective, and there will be wins by White posted.  I also posted a 7-part repertoire for both Black and White on the French from August to November.  (Links by month are at the bottom I believe.)