For Black· 6 lines

French Defense - 3.Nd2 - Tarrasch Variation & Other moves

Position after 12... Qc7

Main line

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

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
The knight drops back to defend e4 while staying flexible for kingside development.
3... c5
Our sharpest try for equality, hitting d4 immediately and exposing the knight's awkward placement on d2.
4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4
Move order is critical in this line.
6. Bc4
White hits our queen first, preparing Nb3 to stop our e5 break.
6... Qd7 7. O-O
The most precise continuation for White.
7... Nc6
A solid queen retreat that's just as good as the main moves. Here it is in action: .
8. Nb3 Nf6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4
Trading knights relieves the pressure on our position.
10. Nxd4
Now we need to watch for Bb5, pinning our knight to the queen.
10... a6 11. c3
White locks down the knight on d4.
11... Bd6
We shift gears. Queen to c7 comes next, and we've got Bxh2+ tricks brewing.
12. Qe2 Qc7 13. h3 O-O
We can choose between the aggressive b5 followed by Bb7, or the safer h6 to stop Bg5 before developing with b6 and Bb7.
14. Bg5 Bh2+
Remember this bishop sacrifice pattern, it comes up in several lines.
15. Kh1
The only move.
15... Bf4
White has to recapture the bishop somehow, but we get a solid position either way.

The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.

Main Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd7 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nb3 Nf6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 a6 11. c3 Bd6 12. Qe2 Qc7 13. h3 O-O 14. Bg5 Bh2+ 15. Kh1 Bf4
3. Bd3
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3 dxe4 4. Bxe4 Nf6 5. Bf3 c5 6. Ne2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Be3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nbd7 10. Nc3 Ne5 11. Be2 Qc7 12. Ndb5 Qb8
4. c3
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. c3 cxd4 5. cxd4 dxe4 6. Nxe4 Nf6 7. Nxf6+ Qxf6 8. Nf3 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 Bd7 11. Bd3 Bc6
4. Ngf3
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 Bd6 8. O-O Nf6 9. Qe2 Qc7 10. h3 O-O
4. Ngf3
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Qc7 9. Qe2 Ne7 10. O-O Ng6 11. Nf3 Be7 12. c4 dxe4 13. Bxe4 f5
5. dxc5
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. dxc5 Nf6 6. Ngf3 Qxc5 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. O-O Qc7 9. Qe2 Nc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxd7+ Ncxd7 12. Ne4 Be7 13. Bg5 Nxe4

The trainer plays the opponent's moves and waits for yours, line by line. Free to start.