French Defense

The French Defense in chess is an aggressive counterattack by black against the standard 1.e4 ("King Pawn") opening by White.

This French Defense consists of the following:

1. e4 e6

With this 1...e6 move black bolsters its a2-g8 diagonal, which can otherwise be a weakness. But this has a defect in trapping the black queen's bishop.

This French Defense is the second-most popular defense by black, after the Sicilian Defense (1...e5), in response to the oft-used 1.e4 opening by white.^[1]

Drawback[edit]

A drawback to the French Defense is the following predictable exchange, which tends to lead to a draw (which may be good for Black):

1.e4 e6
2.d4 d5
3.exd5 exd5

See also[edit]

• Mastering the French Defense

Reference[edit]