Editing French Defence (section)

==General themes==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}
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| Typical pawn structure
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The diagram shows a [[pawn structure]] commonly found in the French. Black has more space on the queenside, so tends to focus on that side of the board, almost always playing c7–c5 early on to attack White's pawn chain at its base, and may follow up by advancing the a- and b-pawns.

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Position after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.f4 Qb6 6.Nf3 Nh6
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Alternatively or simultaneously, Black will play against White's centre, which is cramping Black's position. In the unlikely case that the flank attack c7–c5 is insufficient to achieve counterplay, Black can also try f7–f6. In many positions, White may support the pawn on e5 by playing f2–f4, with ideas of f4–f5, but the primary drawback to the advance of the f-pawn is opening of the g1–a7 diagonal, which is particularly significant due to the black queen's oft-found position on b6 and the heavy pressure on d4. In addition, many French Advance lines do not provide White with the time to play f2–f4 as it does not support the heavily pressured d4-pawn. For instance, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.f4? (if White plays Nf3, f4 will come much slower) 5...Qb6 6.Nf3 Nh6! and the knight will go to f5 to place fatal pressure on d4 and dxc5 will never be an option as the white king would be stuck in the centre of the board after ...Bxc5.

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| Classical French with 9.Bd3
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White usually tries to exploit the extra space on the {{chessgloss|kingside}}, often playing for a mating attack. White tries to do this in the [[Alexander Alekhine|Alekhine]]–Chatard Attack, for example. Another example is the following line of the Classical French: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 0-0 8.Nf3 c5 9.Bd3 ({{em|diagram}}). White's {{chessgloss|light-square bishop}} eyes the weak h7-pawn, which is usually defended by a knight on f6, but here it has been pushed away by e5. If 9...cxd4 (Black does better with 9...f5 or 9...f6), White can play the [[Greek gift sacrifice]] 10.Bxh7+ Kxh7 11.Ng5+ Qxg5{{chesspunc|!}} 12.fxg5 dxc3 13.Qh5+! where Black has three minor pieces for the queen, a slight material superiority, but has a vulnerable king and White has good attacking chances.

Apart from a piece attack, White may play for the advance of the kingside pawns (an especially common idea in the endgame), which usually involves f2–f4, g2–g4 and then f4–f5 to use the spatial advantage on that side of the board. A white pawn on f5 can be very strong as it may threaten to capture on e6 or advance to f6. Sometimes {{chessgloss|pushing}} the h-pawn to h5 or h6 may also be effective. A modern idea is for White to gain space on the queenside by playing a2–a3 and b2–b4. If implemented successfully, this will further restrict Black's pieces.

{{Chess diagram small
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|Tarrasch vs. Teichmann, 1912
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|Position after 15...Nxc5
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One of the drawbacks of the French Defence for Black is the {{chessgloss|queen's bishop}}, which is blocked in by the pawn on e6 and can remain passive throughout the game. An often-cited example of the potential weakness of this bishop is [[Siegbert Tarrasch|S. Tarrasch]]&ndash;[[Richard Teichmann|R. Teichmann]], [[San Sebastián]] 1912, in which the diagrammed position was reached after fifteen moves of a Classical French.

Black's position is passive because the light-square bishop is hemmed in by pawns on a6, b5, d5, e6, and f7. White will probably try to exchange Black's knight, which is the only one of Black's pieces that has any scope. Although it might be possible for Black to hold on for a [[Draw (chess)|draw]], it is not easy and, barring any mistakes by White, Black will have few chances to create counterplay; this is why, for many years, the classical lines fell out of favour, and 3...Bb4 began to be seen more frequently after [[World War I]], owing to the efforts of [[Aron Nimzowitsch]] and [[Mikhail Botvinnik]]. In Tarrasch–Teichmann, White won after 41 moves. In order to avoid this fate, Black usually makes it a priority early in the game to find a useful post for the bishop. Black can play ...Bd7–a4 to attack a pawn on c2, which occurs in many lines of the Winawer Variation. If Black's f-pawn has moved to f6, then Black may also consider bringing the bishop to g6 or h5 via d7 and e8. If White's light-square bishop is on the f1–a6 diagonal, Black can try to exchange it by playing ...b6 and ...Ba6, or ...Qb6 followed by ...Bd7–b5.