CanadianClub wrote on 05/21/17 at 11:44:44:


Yes, I had to give up the French because of this. I once had a sequence of 6 draws versus players of around 2300 who all played the Exchange against me, I didn't manage to get winning chances in any of the games.

The problem with the French for me is getting winning chances vs lower rated players (or against someone he wants a draw in a team match) because of the exchange. I try to get IQPs to imbalance the game enough. By the way, I play Sicilian in that kind of situations if I know his elo in advance.

The antis in general are in fashion. The French is no exception 

Since you asked for "Any opinions on the most practical black repertour book?
With practical I mean something easy to maintain and not to much theory."

Then Fort Knox (Bc8-d7-c6) is an ideal choice, solid and easy to play - the only scary lines are the ones with Ne4-g5 but a little exactness should be enough, unless something major has been found for white the last few years...

The Rubinstein proper, with 4...Nbd7 etc is not so easy as black stays congested so there you need exactness in several variations.
Though it's possible to play it non-theoretically too, a friend of mine had his own system with 4...Be7 which he knew better than the theory books - but it took him many years of trial and error in thousands of blitz and rapids to develop...

The French is a wast territory and can be played in so many different ways - just look at the styles of the top players who use it! So, don't expect to learn it all quickly from just one book or two!

Bibs wrote on 09/15/16 at 13:36:53:


Thanks for the warning, I will consider it.
Luckly McDonald also gives a second repertour vs Nd2 and Nc3 and not only Fort Knox so I dont have to buy some other book at once.

It also appears that Langrock has written a book devoted to Rubinstein from blacks point of view.
Any comments about that book?

Lakdawala has also written some recent French book but I assume it more a basic book?

Mastering the French with the Read and Play Method is fantastic.  Hard to get hold of, though.

I do the same and play 1...e6 vs d4 and e4.  Since I do this only 1 / 54 games with 1.d4 ended in a French 

Akobian has a nice and short series of vids on the French in which one of them explains the rubinstein very well.  They are on Icc (French connection are the name of the serie). If you are on Icc it's the better starting point.

Lauri Torni wrote on 09/15/16 at 08:59:14:


P.S. Why the french? There are also good openings available.

My plan with the French is (at least temporary and short term) is to play it by the move order 1 d4 e6 2 e4 d5 so I only need something quick thats playable in case of white transposes to 1 e4. In long term I will maybee use it as main defence vs e4 too and play some more theoritcial lines. In case of 1 d4 e6 2 c4 I play Nf6. This idea was suggested to me by two of my friends when we chatted a bit after a tournament.

I have almost no experience with black pieces in French but I  have played varios systems with white.
When I comes to books I own "Mastering the French" but no repertoir book.