Take Down the French Advance

French Defense players can't avoid the Advance Variation because it's so popular for White - but you can take it down!

Here is my "take down" of the Advance - the repertoire of lines that I rely on, and have served me well for over 30 years. I am sure they will serve you well too.

The core idea is simple. If White allows you to remove the pawn on d4 do so and then put pressure on e5 with your pieces and the move f7-f6. If d4 is defended well (4.c3 and 5.Nf3) then attack e5 with f7-f6.

Clear target

These variations are so attractive because they give Black a clear target. So you won't have trouble finding a plan.

The main lines suggested here have been played by players such as Topalov, Mamedyarov, Caruana, Shirov and Ivanchuk, so you are in good company.

There is one line where this plan does not work: The Milner-Barry Gambit.
Here I suggest taking the pawn. White has some compensation, but Black has counterplay.

Up-to-date and complete

The lines given here have been checked against the most recent books and videos about the French Advance.

I have given more details than necessary against less important moves, especially deviations at move 4. The reason is that these variations contain many typical motifs for the Advance Variation, often in a simplified form. You do not need to memorize all of these variations, just play them through to get a feeling for the positions and the strategies connected with them.

Two (three) repertoires in one

I also wrote short introductions to each chapter summarizing the absolute minimum you should know.

The 'important line' feature offers a smaller but relatively complete repertoire for Black for the impatient readers, who want to get their hands dirty quickly. It consists of the most critical 100 lines, in the sense that essential continuations and the most important ideas the reader should know are covered.

Move Guide

Have a look at the Move Guide which summarizes and explains the ideas behind the most common moves in the Advance Variation.

This repertoire can be used by players of all levels from casual to expert. However, I suggest different ways of using it depending on your strength and experience.

For casual or not so experienced, intermediate players I suggest to read most of the introductions, have a look at the Move Guide, and then look at only one chapter at a time, learning only the 'important lines' from that chapter.

Experienced intermediate and advanced players could go through all the important lines together with anything interesting to them.

Experts probably don't need any advice, but I still suggest to be selective. This repertoire developed over the course of 35 years. There is no need to go through everything in one afternoon.

I hope this repertoire will provide a useful addition to the courses on the French Defense already available here.