Openings · C15–C19

French, Winawer

3…Bb4 — pin the knight, trade the bishop for it when White pays, and play against the wreckage.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4played as Black

The idea

The main line is 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3: White has the two bishops and a big centre, Black has a permanent target on c3 and the c-file to attack it with. It is the sharpest and least symmetrical way to meet 1.e4.

Black's king usually stays in the centre or goes long, because the kingside has been left to White along with the pawn on e5. That is a decision made on move three, not a problem discovered on move fifteen.

Practise the line

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

Your move 1 of 30/3

1.e4e6
2.d4d5
3.Nc3Bb4

White is answering…

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level. Each is ordinary opening theory — a named trap, or the error every coach corrects — not a statistic, and not drawn from anybody's games.

Trading the bishop for free

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5

The mistake: Taking on c3 before White has spent a move asking you to.
Why it costs: The exchange is a bargain when a3 has been played for it — that is a tempo, and a doubled pawn White cannot repair. Volunteering it hands over the bishop pair and leaves White with the same structure and a move in hand.
Instead: …c5 first, and take on c3 when a3 forces the issue. The bishop on b4 is doing work while it stands there.

Releasing the tension on d4

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Nf3 cxd4 8.cxd4

The mistake: Playing …cxd4 to open the position.
Why it costs: White recaptures with the c-pawn and the doubled pawn is gone. That pawn was the compensation for the bishop pair; without it Black has given up a bishop and is facing a healthy big centre with nothing to show for it.
Instead: Keep the tension and add attackers — …Qc7, …Nbc6, …Qa5. Let White be the one who has to take, and take with a piece.

Castling into the attack

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 O-O 8.Bd3 f5 9.exf6 Rxf6 10.Bg5

The mistake: Castling short with the queen already on g4.
Why it costs: The dark-squared bishop that used to guard g7 was traded on move five, and the king has just moved to the only part of the board where White has every piece. Bd3, Bg5 and h4 need no preparation at all.
Instead: …Qc7, …Nbc6 and …Bd7, castling long or not at all. The centre is closed, so a king on e8 is safer than it looks and safer than a king on g8.

Where it fits

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

Try it on one of your own

The board above is for the line itself; this is for a game you played. Paste a game in this opening, or pull one from chess.com, and every move is graded against what the engine would have played. Open the board, read how the grading works, or go back to the other openings.