Chess lessons › Chess openings
The Tarrasch French
White protects e4 with 3.Nd2 and avoids the pin. Learn Black’s two main answers.
The idea
White protects e4 with Nd2; Black hits d4 at once or plays ...Nf6.
- The knight on d2 protects e4 and leaves the c-pawn free.
- But it shuts in the bishop on c1 for now.
- Black hits d4 at once with ...c5, before c3 can support it.
In a game: Against 3.Nd2, strike at d4 with ...c5 before White plays c3.
How the lesson begins
The Tarrasch Variation is 3.Nd2. The knight protects e4, as it would from c3, and it leaves the c-pawn free to go to c3 and support d4. If Black plays ...Bb4, c3 attacks the bishop at once.
The price is that the knight on d2 shuts in the bishop on c1 for now. Among players rated 2000 and above on Lichess, White scores 51% after 3.Nd2.
Find the move
Black to move. White’s knight on d2 does not watch d4, and the c-pawn has not yet reached c3. Strike at d4 at once with a pawn.
A hint
Use your c-pawn.
Show the answer
3... c5
3...c5 is the engine’s top choice. Lichess calls it the Open System. Black attacks d4 before White can support it with c3. Players rated 2000 and above chose it in 28% of their games after 3.Nd2.
In numbers
How often it is played
| Rating | Value |
|---|---|
| Under 800 | Too few games |
| 800 to 1199 | Too few games |
| 1200 to 1599 | Too few games |
| 1600 to 1999 | 1.1 |
| 2000 and up | 4.9 |
How the games ended
White won 50%, 6% were drawn and Black won 45%, over 1,879 games that start this way, in a sample of rated Lichess games from 2026.