Answer by Sorin Solberg for What is a good French-like defense against 1. d4?
Well, I think the Tarrasch defense is pretty 'french-like'.[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]1.d4 d5 (1...e6 2.c4 (2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 Bb4) 2...Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 c5) 2.c4 e6...
View ArticleAnswer by Philip Roe for What is a good French-like defense against 1. d4?
How about the Old Indian (1.d4, Nf6 2.c4, d6)? It is not popular at the highest levels, but I have forgotten why not, and so will most of your opponents. Of course, White might not play c4, but Im sure...
View ArticleAnswer by user13741 for What is a good French-like defense against 1. d4?
I play the French and the Gruenfeld against 1.d4. Both are counterattacking, that's what the French really is anyway a counter attack. So a French player will feel at home in the Gruenfeld despite its...
View ArticleAnswer by aschultz for What is a good French-like defense against 1. d4?
As a French player, I never liked d4 e6 because I didn't want to go into the QGD. I see its dynamic potential now, but it's just not my style.I can't say this is based on strict logic, but my play got...
View ArticleAnswer by Tom Au for What is a good French-like defense against 1. d4?
Rudolph Spielmann, a great advocate of the French Defense, would play e6 against d4, to give White the chance to transpose into the French defense with e4. When Rubenstein played c4 instead, Spielmann...
View ArticleAnswer by Andrew for What is a good French-like defense against 1. d4?
One option is to play 1... e6 against 1. d4 anyways!After 1. d4 e6, white doesn't really have a choice other than to transpose into a standard opening anyways. If white plays 2. e4, well that's just...
View ArticleWhat is a good French-like defense against 1. d4?
I enjoy playing the French Defence as black against 1. e4, for the following reasons.It often creates a closed position without wild tacticsIt takes white away from the more familiar lines (1... e5 and...
View ArticleAnswer by David for What is a good French-like defense against 1. d4?
I think the most "French-like" reply to 1.d4 is the King's Indian Defense. By playing an early ...e6 and ..d5 you're making the same moves as in the French, but you hardly ever get a similar type of...
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