First Steps: The French

Cyrus Lakdawala (Everyman Chess, 2016). Part of Everyman’s First Steps series, which teaches an opening through principles, typical plans and traps in selected games rather than through long variations. Aimed at improving players. It is an introduction, not a repertoire.

There is a 16-page sample on the product page.

Modern French, Volumes 1 and 2

Dmitry Kryakvin (Chess Stars, 2020). The most recent complete repertoire we stock, in two books. Volume 1 covers the Tarrasch, where Black is given two options, 3…c5 and 3…Nc6, plus the Exchange and other early deviations. Volume 2 covers the Advance, meeting it with 3…c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Nc6, and the Winawer, where Black plays 4.e5 c5 and chooses between the …Ba5 and …Qa5 systems. Worth knowing: it does not cover the Poisoned Pawn (6…Ne7 7.Qg4), so if that is the line you want, look at Berg or Miedema below. You need both volumes.

There is a 2-page sample on the product page.

Opening Repertoire: The French Defence

Cyrus Lakdawala (Everyman Chess, 2019). A complete repertoire in a single volume, with chapters on the Winawer, Tarrasch, Advance, Exchange, King’s Indian Attack and the rest. Against the Winawer it recommends 4.e5 Qd7, Petrosian’s line, instead of the usual 4…c5. It is a less common choice than 4…c5. Written in a question-and-answer style.

The French Defense: The Solid Rubinstein Variation

Hannes Langrock (Russell Enterprises, 2014). A one-volume repertoire built on 3…dxe4, which takes the same shape whether White plays 3.Nc3 or 3.Nd2, so there is no Winawer or Tarrasch theory to learn at all. It also covers the Advance, the King’s Indian Attack and the Exchange. John Watson’s foreword describes it as suited to the average tournament and online player. One thing to know: ours is the first edition. The publisher has since issued a revised second edition with about a third more material.

There is a 15-page sample on the product page.

Grandmaster Repertoire 14 and 15: The French Defence

Emanuel Berg (Quality Chess, 2013). Two full volumes on the Winawer alone. Volume 14 covers everything in the Winawer except the main line with 7.Qg4. Volume 15 is devoted to that line and offers three answers: the Poisoned Pawn and two lines with 7…0-0. Two honest caveats. The analysis is from 2013. And Berg’s repertoire has a third volume, on the Tarrasch and Advance, which we do not stock, so these two do not make a complete repertoire on their own. Both are available in hardcover and paperback.

There is a 10-page sample on the product page.

The Modernized French Defense, Volume 1: The Winawer

David Miedema (Thinkers Publishing, 2019). A Winawer repertoire for Black, more recent than Berg. Against 7.Qg4 it recommends the Poisoned Pawn, and the author says plainly that he moved to it because his earlier 7…0-0 line is “almost refuted”. Volume 1 only. A second volume, on the Tarrasch, exists but we do not stock it.

There is a 16-page sample on the product page.

Classical French: Move by Move

Cyrus Lakdawala (Everyman Chess, 2014). Covers only the Classical, 3.Nc3 Nf6, with its main branches: the Steinitz, the Burn and the McCutcheon. Explained through annotated games with questions for the reader. Useful if you want 3…Nf6 instead of the Winawer, but you will need something else against the Tarrasch and the Advance.

Playing 1.e4: French Defence and Sicilian Sidelines

John Shaw (Quality Chess, 2018). A White repertoire with the Tarrasch, 3.Nd2, which Shaw chose because it is popular at grandmaster level but needs comparatively little upkeep. It also covers the Rubinstein and the Fort Knox, plus rare Sicilian sidelines. This is the second of the three volumes in Shaw’s 1.e4 series.

There is a 16-page sample on the product page.

Grandmaster Repertoire: 1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor

Parimarjan Negi (Quality Chess, 2014). The opposite approach: 3.Nc3, meeting the Winawer head-on, including the Poisoned Pawn. More than half of the book’s roughly 600 pages are about the French. It is sharp, and John Shaw makes the fair point that lines this sharp need regular updating. That is a real commitment, and the book is now more than ten years old.

There is a 13-page sample on the product page.

Beating the French Winawer: The h4 Ram

Andrei Obodchuk, Mikhail Ivanov and Vassilios Kotronias (Russell Enterprises, 2025). The newest book here, and the narrowest. Against the Winawer’s main line it plays 7.h4 instead of the forcing 7.Qg4, as a more positional way to attack. It covers the Winawer only, so you will still need answers to 3…Nf6, 3…dxe4 and everything else.

Fighting the French: A New Concept

Denis Yevseev (Chess Stars, 2011). A White repertoire with 3.Nd2 that uses one setup, with Ngf3, Bd3, c3 and castling, against almost everything Black plays, and steers for isolated-pawn positions even against 3…Nf6. It is from 2011, but a system built on one setup and one pawn structure ages better than one built on forcing lines.

There is a 3-page sample on the product page.