Overview
Learn How to Play the French Defense (Video Series+Databases)
So you want to play master the French Defense but have trouble remembering your lines? World-renowned trainer Mihail Marin has come up with the perfect solution…
We’re proud to announce we’ve teamed up with Modern Chess to provide the perfect solution. GM Marin has put together 3 fully-annotated chess databases.
They provide pro-level repertoires for Black against:
- The Tarrasch (3.Nd2)
- The Winawer (3.Nc3 Bb4)
- The Advance variation (3.e5) and sidelines.
Each of these is a complete course in itself – organized into chapters covering the theory, model games, recommended lines, and interactive tests!
We are happy to have partnered with Modern Chess to provide you with these extremely thorough databases.
You get to see how different ideas play out… and actually move the pieces yourself to check all the “what ifs?”
And to give you the complete experience, we’re bundling these courses with Mihail’s superb 8-hour 80/20 Tactics Multiplier on the French!
About the Author
Mihail Marin is a Romanian chess Grandmaster and a very popular chess coach and author. Marin’s first major success in international chess was qualifying for the Interzonal in 1987.
He has won the Romanian Championships on three occasions and has played in the Chess Olympiads ten times, winning a bronze individual medal in 1988. For several years he was editor of the magazine Chess Extra press.
GM Mihail Marin is one of the most respected coaches in the world today having trained the young Judit Polgar and being praised for his ability to explain deep chess truths in a way improving players can understand.
Take down 1.e4 players with…
- Mihail’s Tactical Toolbox. The great thing about the French is the huge number of subtle tactics that your opponents will walk into time and again. It’s hard to believe that White’s Ng5 is a mistake… imagine your rival’s face when you bang out Bxg2! (diagram)
- The Power of the Isolani. The isolated queen’s pawn/isolani we get against the Tarrasch lets us stifle White by controlling c4 and e4… before we either sacrifice it in an attack or time a trade to permanently damage White’s structure.
- Stunning sacrifices. If your opponent is surprised by …e5! and …Ndxe5! (diagram), wait until they see …Bh4+!! GM Marin’s 80/20 Tactics course is packed full of killer sacrifices that your opponents will never see coming.
What to expect from each of the 4 courses
In 80/20 Tactics Multiplier French Defense:
GM Mihail Marin’s course on the essential patterns in the French Defense gives you a complete understanding of typical tactical and strategic patterns for both sides.
The French Defense is one of the most trusted openings in chess, popular at all levels from beginners to strong grandmasters.
It is a strategically and dynamically complex opening full of rich possibilities. Both sides have a multitude of tactical shots and ideas at their disposal thanks to the different asymmetrical pawn structures and imbalances which occur from the different variations.
It is a perfect opening for players who prefer to understand key strategical and tactical ideas rather than memorize an endless amount of theoretical variations.
In Classical Repertoire against 3.Nd2 (PGN):
GM Mihail Marin offers a repertoire against 3.Nd2 French (the so-called Tarrasch system) based on the Isolated queen’s pawn (or Isolani).
The author relies on his extensive experience with the Isolani to guide you through the intricacies of arguably the most important pawn structure in chess.
In Advance Variation & Sidelines (PGN):
Marin deals with the other White’s alternatives on the very first moves. He provides adequate antidotes, both based on strategical ground and by concrete ideas or move orders.
The included material resembles a small encyclopedia from Black’s point of view. It is structured into 25 chapters. The last 9 are covering the less popular continuations on move 2, as well as the unusual ways of defending the attacked central pawn after 2.d4 d5 in the final one. Before them, another 5 are devoted to its exchange – 3.exd5 exd5.
In Play the Winawer against 3.Nc3 (PGN):
3.Nc3 is White’s most active weapon against the French Defense. GM Marin provides an opening repertoire for Black based on 3…Bb4, commonly known as the Winawer Variation.
While both 3…Bb4 and 3…Nf6 are principled as they attack White’s center, the author has a clear preference for 3…Bb4 because it offers an early strategic plot, similar to his recommendation against 3.Nd2.
The point is that in many lines of this variation, the exchange on c3 leads to strategically double-edged positions.
