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Past and present, the French Defence has been and remains a popular choice against White's King's pawn opening, with top class grandmasters such as Korchnoi, Morozevich, Bareev and Short continuing to practise it with success. Since the publication of The Complete French in 1992 - a highly acclaimed standard work on the subject - the volume of theory has increased to such an extent that the author has produced three volumes to cover the whole opening. This first volume - dealing with the sequence 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 - features a wealth of illustrative games as well as up-to-date theory. Known as the 'Tarrasch variation', it has long been known to provide excellent attacking prospects for White but, as the younger generation has amply demonstrated, Black has many exciting counterattacking resources too!

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Grandmaster Lev Psakhis is a former Soviet champion now living in Israel. He has been a lifelong adherent of the French Defence and serves as trainer to world No 1 player Judit Polgar.

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Way back in 1982, the question "What am I going to do against the king's pawn?" became an utter torment for me. The openings of my youth - Ruy Lopez and Sicilian -were affected by some "holes" that were difficult to plug, and the problem of choosing a new defence was nothing short of a life-and-death matter! It was then that I decided to join that large group of strong grandmasters who cannot imagine life without the French Defence - and I have never regretted this decision!
In my view, the French Defence is like a beautiful, proud lady who doesn't give her heart away easily. You may spend hours on end in the study of long and complicated variations, but that isn't enough to grasp all the secrets of this difficult opening. You have to devote yourself to it "heart and soul" - only then, perhaps, will you penetrate its numerous mysteries.
It is quite impossible even to begin learning the French without studying some memorable games by great masters of the past such as Nimzowitsch, Botvinnik and Petrosian. I have also had much pleasure analysing games by contemporary players - names that spring to mind are Korchnoi, Uhlmann, Vaganian, Yusupov, Mikhail Gurevich, Shirov, Anand and many, many more. In general it shouldn't be forgotten that the essential struggle in these games takes place not in the opening itself but in the complex, intricate labyrinths of the middlegame.
The French is less exposed to the winds of chess fashion than, say, the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian. I have nonetheless endeavoured to provide up-to-date material, although considering the speed at which theory develops today, the reader must be alert and indeed wary - for by the time this book comes out, the assessment of some variations may have turned a full 180 degrees.
It is owing to the sheer rate of expansion of French Defence theory in recent years that three books are now required to deal with the whole opening, compared to just one as was the case with my earlier The Complete French, published in 1992. The present work deals with the ever popular Tarrasch Variation, 3 Nd2. A second volume will analyse some rare lines (2 d3, 2 Qe2 etc.) as well as the Exchange Variation (3 exd5 exd5) and the currently fashionable Advance Variation, 3 e5. A third volume will be devoted to 3 Nc3.
In conclusion, I would like to wish you as much pleasure from reading this book as I had from writing it, even though it was an extremely difficult labour! I hope the book will help you in your study of this rich opening which, in my view, is called a defence only through a misunderstanding.

Lev Psakhis, Rishon le Zion, Israel March 2003

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005 Preface
006 Symbols and Abbreviations
007 1 Rare Continuations and 3...Be7
031 2 3 Nd2 Nc6 (C03-C04)
061 3 3 Nd2 Nf6 (C05-C06)
154 4 3 Nd2 c5 4 Ngf3 and Rare Alternatives (C07)
175 5 3 Nd2 c5 4 exd5 Qxd5 (C07)
217 6 3 Nd2 c5 4 exd5 exd5 (C08)
251 7 3 Nd2 c5 4 exd5 exd5 5 Ngf3 Nc6 (C09)
283 Index of Variations
288 Index of Games

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