212 named lines in this family, ECO
C00-C19. Every one of them opens
1. e4 e6, so the notes on those moves are written once, just below, instead of once per line.
Under each line you get its moves and the sentences it adds that
this page has not already printed; sixty
lines to a page. A line's own page carries up to its
first 4 per-move notes in full.
The moves every line here
plays
1. e4 e6
1. e4Stakes a claim in the centre, controlling d5, and frees the bishop and queen.
1... e6Supports the centre, adding control of d5. Theory calls this the French Defense.
An early pawn trade leaves the c-file as Black's avenue and the d-file as White's - both sides get real winning chances down their own file. ...e6 and ...d5 build a pawn wall that concedes space but never weakness: Black hits the white centre with ...c5 and later ...f6 while the light-squared bishop waits for its moment.
2. d4Stakes a claim in the centre, controlling e5, and frees the bishop and queen.
2... d5Stakes a claim in the centre, controlling e4, and frees the bishop and queen.
An early pawn trade leaves the d-file as Black's avenue and the e-file as White's - both sides get real winning chances down their own file. ...Nf6 pressures e4 directly and asks White to commit: e5 gains space but fixes a target, exchanges free Black's cramped game. Black comes out of the line with the bishop pair.
The pawns on d5 and e4 stand in direct tension - the first player to resolve it chooses the structure. White's knight on c3 is pinned against the king.
The structure hands White the half-open h-file - rook pressure down it is a standing plan. Black keeps the extra pawn; White plays for time, open lines, and initiative - the classic gambit trade.
...Bb4 pins and usually trades for the c3-knight: Black wrecks White's queenside pawns and attacks them forever; White gets the bishop pair and kingside chances.
