French Defense

1.e4 e6

A defense for Black

Rock-solid, with a long-term plan baked in.

The idea

Black prepares ...d5 to challenge e4 while keeping a sturdy pawn chain. The trade-off: the light-squared bishop can get boxed in behind the pawns.

The plan

Black strikes at White's pawn chain with ...c5 (and sometimes ...f6), plays on the queenside, and tries to free or trade the 'bad' light-squared bishop.

One tip for beginners

Solve the bad bishop early - plan ...b6 and ...Ba6, or trade it off. A happy French player is one whose worst piece found a job.

What to watch out for

Getting passive. The French is solid, not passive - you must counterattack with ...c5, or White's space advantage will smother you.