Category Archives: FRENCH DEFENCE

HOLIDAY PREPARATION

Finding the time to study chess can be quite tricky, especially for those of us with work and family commitments. It can seem almost impossible to find a solid chunk of time to work on your game which usually means using occasional study opportunities during the day. I built Tiger Chess with this in mind; people can access lessons and videos while waiting for a bus or train or during lunch breaks at the office. It is better to try and set aside some study time during the day, for example first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening, but this is not always possible.

When holidays come along, such as the ones many of us have at the moment, there can be more of an opportunity to spend a few consecutive hours on chess. How should we use it productively? The first thing is to have a realistic plan in place of what can be achieved during this time. There is also a good case for having a plan for all of our chess study, holidays just providing a bit more time to make extra progress.

A favourite study topic is the opening, not least because most of the chess books out there are about them. Simple practical openings that are not in danger of being suddenly refuted make the most sense for busy people. This accounts for many of the lines I recommend, such as the French Defence, Queen's Gambit Declined and Queen's Pawn Games as White. Those with little time on their hands do not have time to try to assimilate opening theory using books with hundreds of pages of densely packed analysis. This stuff is also completely unnecessary, games can be won against Grandmasters using simple openings and strong core skills.

What is the best way to study openings? Well here at Tiger Chess HQ my son Sam and I use the old fashioned approach of going through complete games with a board and pieces, never once going through them on a computer screen. We also play dozens of training games in each line in order to get the feel of the middle games and build up practical experience in particular position types. I think this is invaluable but very few people do it.

One final recommendation is to try to introduce new openings over time rather than change everything in one fell swoop. The previous paragraph really explains this, if you try to take on too much it will be impossible to do it thoroughly enough. The result will be a superficial grasp of a lot of things rather than a deep grasp of just one.

Nigel Davies

THE FRENCH DEFENCE COURSE

The Tiger Chess French Defence Course is an advanced, stand-alone opening course which builds on the treatment of the French presented in the Building an Opening Repertoire course. It features over 11 hours of video which explain key games and ideas plus a pgn (portable game notation) file of recommended variations that can be built upon, extended and important into software such as Chess Position Trainer. The 88 games presented are also included in pgn format, but without annotations.

The French is an excellent defence to choose as Black, it is solid and helps foster positional understanding. The choice of variations is designed to make it easy to learn and remember, with the focus being on reaching and playing certain typical key middle game and endgame positions. All the variations are examined more deeply than in the Building an Opening Repertoire course and some new lines have been introduced.

The main change from the Building an Opening Repertoire lines is that are new ways of meeting both 3.Nd2 and 3.Nc3 instead of the Rubinstein Variation with 3...dxe4. Against 3.Nc3 it is still possible to reach a Rubinstein after 3...Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7, though in this case White has lost many of his best anti-Rubinstein options because his bishop already stands on g5. White also has 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 available, but here Black has a good line in 4...Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6, aiming to get counterplay with 8...b7-b5.

4.Bg5 dxe4 is a rock solid option

Against the Tarrasch Variation with 3.Nd2 the recommended line is 3...c5 after which 4.exd5 Qxd5 produces a pawn structure that is very similar to those that arise from the Rubinstein Variation. Black often obtains a favourable endgame by centralising his king and then advancing his kingside pawns. White has a major alternative in 4.Ngf3 after which the recommendation is 4...cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6.

The recommended line against 3.e5 is still 3...c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nge7, but the lines are examined in greater depth and with more ambitious options on offer for Black. The same is true of the Exchange Variation where 4.Bd3 is answered by 4...Nc6 and 4.Nf3 by 4...Bd6. There is also the same plan against the King's Indian Attack and 2.Qe2 lines where Black delays playing ...d7-d5 until he has castled so as to make room for his knight on e8.

This course is suitable for players over 1700 Elo who want a high quality defence against 1.e4 that is based on plans and strategy rather than tricks and traps. You need to be a Tiger Chess member to get it and continue to view it, which is why it priced at just $15.95. You can get it at the add-on videos page but need to be a logged on member to see the option to purchase it.

Nigel Davies

A SHARP LINE IN THE BURN-RUBINSTEIN FRENCH

During the last few weeks I have been working on a new French Defence course that will extend the French material covered in the Building an Opening Repertoire course. The new repertoire covers many of the same lines but just in greater depth, and with options against 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 and 3.Nc3 apart from the Rubinstein Variation with 3...dxe4.

Against 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 the new option is 3...Nf6, when besides 4.e5 White can pin the knight on f6 with 4.Bg5. What should Black do here? For someone who already has a background in the Rubinstein, 4...dxe4 (known as the Burn Variation) 5.Nxe4 and now 5...Nbd7 is an excellent choice, which transposes into a Rubinstein line where White has already committed his bishop to g5. The main line then runs 6.Nf3 h6 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 8.Bh4 c5 after which 9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.Bxd7+ Qxd7 11.Qe2 Be7 12.O-O-O O-O 13.dxc5 Qc6 14.Ne5 Qxc5 reaches the position in the diagram below:

Position after 14...Qxc5

Although this is a solid line for Black, things sharpen up quite a bit at this point with 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Nd7, after which the obvious way out of the fork with 16...Qg5+ leaves Black with an uncomfortable postion after just 17.Kb1. What Black should do instead is surprising (see diagram below):

Position after 16.Nd7

The star move here is 16...Bxb2+!! after which White must tread carefully. 17.Kxb2 is forced after which 17...Qb4+ 18.Kc1 Qa3+ 19.Kd2 is White's only way to avoid an immediate draw by perpetual check. The position now reached is pictured below:

Position after 19.Kd2

Here Black should continue with the logical 19...Rfd8 after which the best line is 20.Ke1 Qa4 21.Qd3 Rac8 22.Rd2. What should Black do in this situation as 22...Rc7 is bad because of 23.Nf6+? Well the answer is quite subtle, and puts the onus on White to find the only way to keep the balance. Take a look at the position below and figure it out for yourself:

Position after 21.Qd3

The answer is the calm 22...Kh8!, just leaving White with the pin on his knight and avoiding any Nf6+ ideas when Black plays 23...Rc7 on his next move. It's now White's turn to find an only move and he has to see 23.Qb3! after which 23...Qe4+ 24.Qe3 Qb4 25.Qb3 Qe4+ repeats the position and results in a draw.

This is one of the sharpest lines in my French repertoire as the focus is on simple and logical lines that are easy to remember or work out at the board. This one too is very logical, but it helps to know it.

When will my French course be out? Hopefully in a week or two, I'm recording more video whenever I have time.

Nigel Davies