John Emms also recommends KIA against French in his *Attacking with 1e4*.
i can try KIA i studied it thanks.....
#9: 'Most black French players hate the exchange variation, as it leads to open positions they are less familiar with and they like less.' ~ The latter is true; the former, not really. French players do not know the Exchange as well as the Advance, but their greater experience in the Exchange is still enough to outweigh White's extra tempo.
Example: White makes the error of playing h3 at bad times. When poorly timed, there are multiple downsides with h3: If f3 is played to kick a Black Knight from e4 while h3 has also been played, White's kingside is severely weakened; when ...f6 is available, h3 can be used as a hook to open up White's kingside via ...f6, ...g5, and ...g4
'on move 4 white is the first to develop a piece, usually Nf3.' ~ 4. Nf3 is a mediocre move. In the following example, Black scores better: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Bd3 Ne7 6. O-O O-O.
Even in symmetrical positions, Black tends to score better. Example: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. Bg5 Bg4 8. Nbd2 Nbd7 9. c3 c6 10. Qc2 Qc7.
---
#10: 'This opening used to be good, so it must still be good' is a poor mentality. Examples: The King's Indian Defense and King's Gambit are aging badly and suffering. Meanwhile, new, good opening lines are still being discovered. Example: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 h6.
Openings evolve over time: Some die, some are revived, and some have never struggled to stay relevant.
Against the French, the King's Indian Attack may have been good in the past, but I doubt that it is still the case. In the lines that I gave, Black scores excellently.
(The referenced statistics are taken from the Lichess Masters Database.)
(Un)suitability of an opening on 2200+ FIDE level is not necessarily relevant for us, mere mortals struggling 500+ rating points lower.
I just looked in the Lichess opening database for rapid and longer games. I found that in all ratings groups aside of 2500+ KIA scores quite good against the french. Even there it scores not bad if I include blitz games.
Modern Milner Barry is so fun to play!
For blitz also the Alapin Gambit is great!
You're still in the early stages of a long journey. With time and experience you'll develop your own preferences, but for now any of the suggestions above will do.
Some years ago I was paired in the first round of a weekend tournament with a friend who has similar openings repertoire. As I played 1.e4, he muttered under his breath (quietly, to himself, but loud enough for the next table to hear), "Should I play the French? He knows the French. But I know it better!" I was left thinking, and unwilling to reply with any words, "So he knows the French. Better than I do? Probably. But does he understand it? Let's see"
@verylate said in #17:
> With time and experience you'll develop your own preferences
Somehow I doubt that. ;)
@gaurav_darsh said in #1:
> whenever i face french with white im just bamboozled because in exchange u cant play for a win basically in advanced i always make mistakes and classical or tarrasch needs prep One line with 2. Nf3 works online but otb?? Pls tell me a counter
just go and learn some chess
Here are two recommendations against the french which score very well: You can check the Lichess opening tree.
A) 1. e4 e6 2. Qe2 . Black has to go for some none-french pawn structures. Most often black plays c5 and g6, white goes for g3+Bg2 and the structure is similar to a closed Sicilian.
B) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3 if you prefer more open positions. If you use the Lichess opening tree you will see grandmaster games below the tree. Some top guys played it occasionally, but a regular player and expert of the line is Onischuk.