Advance Variation
French Defence · C02 · you play Black. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6
About the Advance Variation
Against the Advance Variation Black attacks the base of White's pawn chain with ...c5, ...Nc6 and ...Qb6. After a3 the push ...c4 locks the queenside and gives Black a clear plan: ...Na5, ...Bd7 and pressure on b3. This is a solid, strategic way to play the French.
Playing the French Defence as Black? The Advance Variation (C02) begins 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6, and is one of 5 lines you can practise here. You study the moves first and then play them against the computer; every wrong move gets a short explanation. Knowing the moves is only half the work, so this page also covers the plans for the middlegame, the endgames to aim for and some grandmaster games. Train it regularly as part of your repertoire of chess defences for Black: the speed mode and drill show quickly which moves you still forget.