French Defence — Winawer
C18 · Played as black · Advanced · French
Trade a bishop for doubled pawns, then let White eat the kingside
The main line
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4
Strategic ideas
- Pin the c3-knight to break White's grip on e4 and force a structural concession
- Trade the dark-squared bishop for the knight, permanently doubling White's c-pawns
- Attack the head of the chain on d4 with …c5 and …Qa5, not the base
- Give up the g7-pawn for time and open lines — the g-file becomes Black's highway
- Accept an unbalanced, ugly-looking position where concrete calculation beats general principles
Key themes
- Dynamic — Both sides wreck their own structures for activity — nothing here is decided by general rules
- Counterattack — Black lets White take on the kingside and counts on queenside pressure arriving first
- Open Files — The g-file for Black and the b-file for White both open up and both matter
Typical plans
The Winawer is the French at its most uncompromising. Black pins the knight and then trades it off, saddling White with doubled c-pawns and a permanent weakness on that side. In return White gets the bishop pair and a huge space advantage, and often just helps themselves to g7. The Poisoned Pawn line shown here is one of the most analysed sequences in chess: Black is down a pawn with a king stuck in the centre, and it's completely fine. Botvinnik built a world championship career on these positions.
Move by move
- e4 — White claims the centre.
- e6 — Black plays the French, preparing …d5 to challenge e4 immediately.
- d4 — White builds the ideal centre.
- d5 — Black strikes at e4, the defining French move.
- Nc3 — White defends e4 with the knight, the most testing choice.
- Bb4 — Black pins the knight. Now e4 is defended by a piece that can't legally move — this is the Winawer.
- e5 — White pushes past, gaining space and closing the centre.
- c5 — Black attacks the base of the chain at d4 immediately.
- a3 — White asks the bishop to declare itself.
- Bxc3+ — Black takes. The bishop is gone forever, but White's queenside structure is wrecked permanently — that's the Winawer bargain.
- bxc3 — White recaptures with the pawn, doubling the c-pawns but reinforcing d4.
- Ne7 — Black develops the knight to e7 rather than f6, staying out of the e5-pawn's way and heading for f5.
- Qg4 — White hits g7. The rook is loose and Black's kingside is undefended.
- Qc7 — Black ignores it entirely and develops with pressure on c3 and e5. This is the Poisoned Pawn — one of the most analysed positions in all of chess.
- Qxg7 — White takes the pawn.
- Rg8 — Black gets the rook out with tempo, and the g-file is now open toward White's king.
- Qxh7 — White grabs a second pawn. The material count is getting silly.
- cxd4 — Black takes on d4, opening the position while White's queen is off holidaying on the kingside. Black has no pawns left on the kingside, an uncastled king and full compensation — the engines agree, even if it looks absurd.