Beat the French: Tarrasch - Closed Variation (3...Nf6)

Main line

The chapter's main line, with the comments from the course.

1. 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2

   Our anti-Winawer weapon. Sure, it blocks the bishop, but we dodge all the sharp theory and keep c3 ready for Black's ...c5 break.

2. 3... Nf6!

   Our Tarrasch weapon. It blocks our bishop but skips all the wild Winawer theory.

3. 4. e5

   We grab the space and kick the knight back. Black's next few moves are pretty much forced.

4. 4... Nfd7

   The knight retreats but keeps an eye on our e5 pawn and supports the coming ...c5 break.

5. 5. f4

   Maximum aggression! We claim huge space and hold it tight. This gives us two big weapons: sharp tactics that punish sloppy play, and positions too messy for engines to crack. Perfect practical choice.

6. 5... c5 6. c3

   The structure we're aiming for. Stable center, lots of space. Black piles on d4 but we hold with simple development, then look for f5 or dxc5 breaks later.

7. 6... Nc6

   Natural development, adding more pressure to d4.

8. 7. Ndf3 Qb6! 8. a3

   We need a3 since the alternatives give Black Bb4+ for free. Plus we're setting up b2-b4 for later.

9. 8... cxd4

   Great, Black opens the position! This gives us extra options compared to other lines.

10. 9. cxd4

    We keep our center locked down while gearing up for the kingside storm.

11. 9... Be7

    Black's ready to castle short. Time to be precise with our next move or we'll miss the perfect attacking formation.

12. 10. h4

    The h-pawn rolls forward, targeting Black's weakened kingside. Karpov, Anatoly - Ljubojevic, Ljubomir (1986)

13. 10... O-O 11. Bd3 f6 12. Ne2

    Completing our setup. Good thing too, since the flashy Bxh7+ sac fails here with Black's queen eyeing d4. 12.Bxh7+ Kxh7 13.Ng5+ fxg5 14.hxg5+ Kg8 15.Qh5 Bxg5 16.fxg5 Qxd4 17.Qh8+ Kf7

Other chapters

• Open System (3...c5)
• Rubinstein (3...dxe4)
• Sidelines (3...Nc6, 3...Be7, 3...c6, 3...a6)