French DefenseC00
1. e4 e6. Black puts a pawn on e6 to get ready for ...d5 next move, which hits White's e4 pawn.
Move by move
1... e6: pawn to e 6
- White: e4, pawn to e 4.
- Black: e6, pawn to e 6.
What each side wants
⚪ White: Play d4 to make a big middle. When Black plays ...d5, push e5 or guard e4 with Nc3.
⚫ Black: Push ...d5, then attack White's middle pawns from the side with ...c5. Watch that your light bishop does not get stuck behind e6.
Black made the last move, so after this it is White's turn.
You will also hear it called the French.
Three things every opening does
The French Defense follows the three ideas strong players use in every opening. Get a pawn or two into the middle of the board, because pieces in the middle can reach more squares. Bring out your knights and bishops before you move the queen a lot, so she is not chased around. And castle early, so your king is tucked behind a wall of pawns and your rook joins the game. When you forget the moves, those three ideas will still help you find a good one.
Try it
Play it against Peabody on Play, then solve today's puzzle. Openings that start the same way:
- Italian Game
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 - Giuoco Piano
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 - Two Knights Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 - Fried Liver Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 - Evans Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 - Scotch Game
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
Name, code and moves from the Lichess openings list (CC0), checked . The words are Peabody's own, and every move on this page is checked by Peabody's chess engine.