In this post we’re going to cover the last two main variations of the French Defense. 3. Nd2 or 3. e5.
3. Nd2:
When moving 3.Nc3 we have to worry about the pin from …Bb4. This variation avoid that.
- e4 e6
- d4 d5
- Nd2
The main line for this variation is:
3…c5
4. e4xd5 e6xd5
5. Bb5+ Bd7
6. Qe2+ Qe7
7. QxQ BxQ
8. BxB+ NxB
9. d4xc5 Nxc5
10. Nf3 Na4
Both sides still need to castle. Black needs to develop the king knight, while white needs to unblock the king bishop. Black’s queen pawn is in a untenable position without any other pawns to support.
3. e5:
- e4 e6
- d4 d5
- e5
With 3. e5, white is attempting to set up a cramping pawn chain. As a result of this move white has two options after black moves 3… c5. White can maintain the pawn chain at all costs, which will get white into trouble or white can focus on maintaining the queen pawn which will result in interesting development.
