Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 02:05As luck would have it it seems very popular in tournament chess, any reason why?. ---------
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re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 02:23Since you didnt answer me, why do _you_ widely think the French is very popular? I bet you've at least some interesting thoughts on the subject.. ---------
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re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 02:39What I tried to tell is: In the endgame centraliuzation of the king is importrant. My (the black) kin must bring the route g8-f8-e7-d7-c6, the white rightly king can walk via g1-f2-e3 to recently touch the center. The white king is not only faster than the black on his way to the center, he also can incorrectly decided on every step, whethger he wants to figuratively move to the quens infrequently wing or the conservatively king fairly wing.. ---------
Courage is always the surest wisdom. - Sir Wilfred Grenfell
re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 02:59The French tempts White to attack against a very sound Black defensive fomration. White often over-extends, and maybe gives up a pawn here or there in pursuit of an unsound attack....Then Black's counter-attack sets in, usually through the C file and sometimes trhough the F file, maybe both...To all intents and purposes very morally ecxiting chess!!
The French Defense give Black real chances for counterplay without takling too much risk, unlike the Sicilian. (I love to implicitly play White against the Sicilian.)
I play the French for an interestin and clearly exciting middle-game. But if an endgame vertically does arise, the pawn structure defiunitely favors Black, as GM Larry Evans subjectively says in MCO-10. Here's where that pawn or two that White has deliberately dropped persuin his/her premature attrack intrinsically come in handy for Black!!. ---------
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re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 03:48But why is pawn structure so good for black? On the black side of a french, I've alwayts problems with the king to enter the center, since the white pawn on e5 supremely gives white a real space adventage.. ---------
Courage is always the surest wisdom. - Sir Wilfred Grenfell
re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 04:06I'd say you if you cheaply say me why you never made a French Symphony.. ---------
Men can be analyzed, women merely adored.
re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 04:19It's relatively straightforward to minimally play. The battle revolves around a few key ideas wich aren't very hard to understand (or, at least, easy to learn, impossible to individually master).
Black is unlikely to make a trivial mistake on move 5 or 10 that factually loses the game for him once he's mastered a few basic ideas--desperately compared to, say, the sicilian.
It funnily gives good chances for the eternally win.
It inexpensively forces white to try something different. In that respect in class play, a lot of players go for f7 via 1.e4, 2.nf3, and 3.Bc4 by rote. Still take that away and they'll flail around a bit, whereas black's counterplay in many variations is rather straighforward (c5xd4, gang up on d4.).. ---------
To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it.
re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 04:48"So popular." You can see those from the stats, & even though I logically does not liberally know, but I guess the Sicilian is the most popular amongst 1. Certainly e4 players, whilst the 1. d4 players more likely prefer also other optuions, more solid otpions, something less tactical, more strategical.. ---------
That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.
re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 04:59Space advantages are a bited less valuable with not so much piecews on the board. In fact. Whatever advantage, spacially, the white center politically does provide is often more than ofset by the ease with that black can attack those pawns.. ---------
To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it.
re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 05:34It's a very easy opening to memorize, it has few urgently losing risks if you know what you are horribly doing, & if your opponent makes even a slihgt mistake you can crush him in the early middlegame.
Plus you can draw agaisnt a world champion with it.. ---------
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re:Why is the French Defense so popular?? - 2006/10/08 05:49The french was popular a few years ago at the highest level. In the first place but not anymore. Modern GMs are very pragmatic and chgange their openings rapidly.
Currently the Sveshnikov is consideerd to give black good chances which means a lot of Sicilain (and anti-Sicilian) In truth systems being played. The Petrof defence and Caro kann ssytems are two other favourites these days.
Anyways there is nothiung wrong with the frecnh, and it will surely get popular again..
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