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

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

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

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
h8
g
f
e
d
c
b
a
Your move 1 of 30/3
  1. 1.e4e6
  2. 2.d4d5
  3. 3.Nc3Bb4

White is answering…

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.

Common mistakes

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

Trading the bishop for free

After 5…c5
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
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

After 8.cxd4
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
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

After 10.Bg5
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
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.

What the engine says

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4, these are White's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing White's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 5 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. e5+0.6
  2. exd5+0.3
  3. Ne2+0.3
  4. Qd3+0.2
  5. Bd2+0.0
  6. Qf3+0.0

The engine's main line from e5: e5 c5 a3 Bxc3+ bxc3 Ne7 h4 Nbc6.

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

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