lichess.org
Donate

Should I play the French ?

If I played it, I'd probably play Winawer or 3...Nf6.

I now play 1...e5 but there are many players that play Exchange Ruy and any kind of Anti-Marshall thing.

Thank you.
There is no reason te be afraid of the exchange Ruy Lopez Spanish or the Anti-Marshall Ruy Lopez. I would rather fear to play the French Winawer or the French with 3...Nf6, not even speaking of the Tarrasch, the Advance Variation, the French exchange...
@tpr you were saying openings can hang themselves ( in other words ).

What should I play ?
1...e5 is very good of course. There is no need to fear anything. 1...e6 is OK too. Other first moves are fine too. Play whatever you like, but do not change too much. Each time you change openings, you lose some strength and you invest time and effort without much of a return.
Both ...e6 and ...e5 are equally reasonable; the first is not so popular at the top level actually, but that doesn't matter on our level.
The "side line problem" (e.g. you mentioned anti-marshall) exists in any opening; shouldn't force a change. Thinking about the french, it may happen that you say "all are playing only advance, exchange or 2.d3; i dont get a winawer at all. And if, after 3. Nc3 Bb4 they play Bd3 instead of e5...".
In general, it's impossible to get always pleasant positions: always both sides have options! You can only try to get a good share of liked variations. If 1 game out of 10 is Spanish exchange - so what; you won't loose them all, and in case of big rating difference the variation probably won't make a difference at all...
It's different if you often don't like the kind of position - then maybe ...e5 isn't the right choice for you?! Or maybe you should change the sub-variation to fix the problem (e.g. play 3. ...Nf6 or 3. ...f5 instead of 3. ...a6; or even 2. ..Nf6 instead of Nc6) ?
Amateurs like us can't play all openings reasonable: therefore it's above all important, that the chosen openings fit's our style. Try to follow a player with similar style - or make experiments, play a lot of different openings and just test what works for you!
Try Caro Kann. It's similar to the French, but it's more solid and less risky. Plus, you don't lock out one of your pieces on move 1 (light bishop).
I would recommend it, but there's some sacrifices you'll have to make when playing it.
-The c8 bishop gets blocked out for most of the opening
-You'll likely get a cramped position in the opening
-The Exchange French is extremely boring especially as black.

I've used the French for a while and had pretty good results with it, but you have to find an opening that suits you. If you want something similar to the French without locking in the bishop on c8 early as #7 said the Caro-Kann might be good for you. I would say the Caro is more risky than the French imo though- white can get a lot of pawns advancing on the kingside and give black a tough position. Pretty much every opening has its pros and cons- just experiment and find one that you like.
I've had pretty good success playing the French. (and the Caro) So, I would say yes, you should try it. It gives you a nice alternative when you don't want to play e5 or c5.

This topic has been archived and can no longer be replied to.