French Defense
A white repertoire built around the French Defense, with annotated grandmaster games and key positions you can drill.
The French Defense is a respected opening at every level of play, from club games to world championship matches. This white repertoire covers the main lines and key sidelines with master games from grandmasters who have made the French Defense part of their tournament arsenal. The defining sequence is 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3. Each game highlights critical positions you can drill in spaced repetition until they are second nature in your own games.
What you will learn
- How French Defense grandmasters handle the typical pawn structures
- Concrete moves at the critical decision points
- How to convert middlegame advantages into the resulting endgames
- Key tactical motifs that recur across the variations
The games this repertoire is built from
10 grandmaster games covering every important variation. Each one has annotated key positions you drill in spaced repetition.
| Game | Event | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Kamsky, Gata vs Ivanchuk, Vassily | 38. Olympiad | 2008 |
| Caruana,F vs Ivanchuk,V | FIDE GP Paris | 2013 |
| Giri,A vs Topalov,V | 11th Hainan Danzhou GM | 2020 |
| Kurnosov, Igor vs Andreikin, Dmitry | 19. TCh-RUS 2012 | 2012 |
| Kokarev,Dm vs Demidov,M | Chigorin Memorial 2014 | 2014 |
| Anand, Viswanathan vs Ponomariov, Ruslan | XX Ciudad de Leon | 2007 |
| Anand,V vs Xiong,Jeffery | 82nd Tata Steel GpA | 2020 |
| Giri,A vs Korobov,A | MrDodgy Invitational 2020 | 2020 |
| Caruana,F vs Akobian,V | ch-USA 2018 | 2018 |
| Karjakin,Sergey vs Rapport,R | 76th Tata Steel Masters | 2014 |
How you actually learn it
Reading an opening is not knowing it. The point is to recall the move when it is your turn and the clock is running.
Pick the opening
The whole repertoire loads at once, every branch prepared. Nothing else is switched on.
Recall, do not read
You are shown the position and play the move. Get it wrong and it comes back sooner.
Connect your games
Link Lichess or Chess.com and it finds the lines you actually get wrong over the board.
Frequently asked questions
Is the French Defense good for club players?
Yes. The French Defense is played at every rating level. Working through the master games below will give you concrete plans you can apply immediately in your own play.
How long does it take to learn this repertoire?
Most users see meaningful results within two to four weeks of daily fifteen-minute sessions. FSRS-6 spaced repetition surfaces only the lines you need to refresh, so practice scales with your forgetting curve.
What if I already know some of the lines?
DawnChess's trainer drills only the moves you actually struggle with. If you already know the main lines cold, you will spend most of your time on sidelines and tactics, not re-drilling what you already remember.
Do I need to memorise all the variations?
No. The repertoire is designed so you understand the typical plans. Memorisation comes naturally as you play the lines and review the spaced-repetition cards.
Where should I start?
Start with the Level 1 game below. It covers the most common variation. Work down the list as your repertoire deepens, drilling the key positions in each game.
Learn the French Defense, one move at a time
Spaced repetition, the full repertoire, and Lichess tactics alongside it. Free.
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