Openings · C03–C09

French, Tarrasch

3.Nd2 — defend e4, keep the c-pawn free, and sidestep the Winawer pin entirely.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2played as White

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play White; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Your move 1 of 30/3
  1. 1.e4e6
  2. 2.d4d5
  3. 3.Nd2

Your move. Drag a piece, or tap it and then its square.

The idea

3.Nc3 and 3.Nd2 defend the same pawn. The difference is that after 3.Nc3 Bb4 the knight is pinned and the c-pawn is stuck behind it, while after 3.Nd2 there is nothing to pin and c2–c3 is available to prop up d4 whenever it is needed.

The price is the bishop on c1, shut in by its own knight. Every good Tarrasch plan involves that knight going somewhere — to f3 and then f1, or to b3, or forward once e5 has been played — and the c-pawn arriving on c3.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Never playing c3

After 7…cxd4
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
The mistake
Reaching the main position and developing everything before supporting d4 with the pawn.
Why it costs
c3 is what 3.Nd2 bought. Without it the centre comes off at the first …cxd4, and White is left with a knight on d2 that is worse than one on c3 and none of the compensation the square was chosen for.
Instead
6.c3 — the standard order is 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3, with the king's knight coming out after the pawn rather than before it.

Hunting the isolated pawn

After 8.O-O
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
The mistake
Reaching the position where Black has an isolated d-pawn and playing to win it.
Why it costs
An isolani is a weakness in an endgame and a source of activity everywhere else. With the pieces still on it gives Black the …d4 break, open files either side of it and the e4 square for a knight. Attacking it head-on invites everything that defends it.
Instead
Blockade first — a knight to d4, a pair of minor pieces traded — and attack the pawn only once the pieces guarding it have gone.

The bishop that never leaves c1

After 8…Qb6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
The mistake
Building the big chain with f4 and leaving the queen's bishop where it started.
Why it costs
With pawns on d4, e5 and f4 that bishop has one diagonal, and a knight standing on it. Meanwhile …Qb6 hits b2 and d4 together and there is nothing to defend the queenside, because half the army is still on the back rank.
Instead
Get the knight off d2 early — Ndf3 or Nb3 — so the bishop can come to e3 and defend d4 instead of watching it.

What the engine says

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2, these are Black's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing Black's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 3 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. c5+0.3
  2. a6+0.4
  3. Be7+0.4
  4. dxe4+0.5
  5. Nf6+0.5
  6. Nd7+0.5

The engine's main line from c5: c5 Ngf3 cxd4 exd5 Qxd5 Bc4 Qd7 O-O.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

Where it fits

The French, Tarrasch is a variation of the French Defence, whose page covers the ideas this one takes for granted.

Analyse a game you played in itAll openings