The Deceptively Simple French Exchange By Im Sam Collins

Deceptively Simple. Clearly Strong.

If you’re a 1.e4 player who’s never quite comfortable facing the French Defense – you’re not the only one. Advance Variation (3. e5), Tarrasch Variation (3.Nd2), 3.Nc3…no matter what you play, it seems like Black can undermine your center with ease.

So stop playing into Black’s hands, and take on the French with the variation every French player despises: the Exchange Variation.

But if the words “boring” and “drawish” come to mind when you think of the French Exchange, International Master Sam Collins is here to show you just how lethal 3.exd5 can get!

The former Irish number 1, with inspiration from the winning results of Grandmaster Etienne Bacrot, has devised a simple and robust Exchange French repertoire that shows you how to fight the French with ease.

By playing the Exchange Variation, you’ll first eliminate the potency of Black’s famous …c5 pawn break right off the bat, keeping your center solid and letting your superior piece activity do the talking.

And with this repertoire, you’ll get plenty of other advantages:

♛ Turn the tables and undermine Black’s center. The French is famous for Black undermining White’s center, but in many variations, you’ll flip the script with your own c-pawn break and dominant central piece activity

♛ Keep the kingside attacks coming. Just like other French variations, you’ll go straight for a kingside attack – but in the Exchange, you won’t have serious counterplay on the queenside from Black! Learn the winning plans and piece setups to make it happen

♛ Rule the open board with the bishop pair. The French Exchange is much more open than other French variations – making the bishop pair a huge advantage. Learn how to secure it in many variations and convert the advantage into a winning attack

♛ Break two rocks with one stone. The French isn’t the only rock-solid defense this repertoire can crack – you’ll also learn how you can use this same repertoire to conquer the mighty Petroff Defense