Beat the French: Tarrasch - Open System (3...c5)

Main line

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

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

   The knight looks awkward blocking our bishop, but there's a method here: we sidestep the razor-sharp Winawer while keeping c3 ready to cement our center when Black strikes with ...c5.

2. 3... c5

   Black's best try for balance now that our knight sits on d2 instead of the more dangerous c3 square.

3. 4. Ngf3

   Natural development, keeping our options open.

4. 4... Nc6

   More pressure on d4, but Black just walked into the isolated queen's pawn structure we want.

5. 5. exd5

   Black should take back with the pawn, the queen capture leads to trouble. After 5...Qxd5 6.Bc4 Qd8 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qe2 Nf6 9.Ne4, we're attacking pieces left and right with great compensation.

6. 5... exd5

   We trade pawns and head into isolated queen pawn territory. The d5 pawn will soon stand alone, giving us the d4 square as a perfect outpost for our pieces.

7. 6. Bb5

   The pin looks innocent but sets up real threats. With Re1 coming, Black's king could get stuck in the center.

8. 6... Nf6

   Black develops the knight actively, but this runs into our e-file pressure after castling.

9. 7. O-O

   Castle first, then Re1 will create serious e-file pressure.

10. 7... Be7 8. dxc5

    Defending our pawn and forcing Black to recapture.

11. 8... O-O 9. Nb3

    Now we're set to exploit our structural edge.

Other chapters

• Closed Variation (3...Nf6)
• Rubinstein (3...dxe4)
• Sidelines (3...Nc6, 3...Be7, 3...c6, 3...a6)