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Is the exchange French so bad?

As a former French player, I generally disliked when White played it because it meant I was not going to get the nice slow, closed up pressure game I wanted out of French. So when playing as White, I almost exclusively play it against French for that very reason! hahah

The advanced variation keeps things closed and White has a slight edge due to space, but if Black can get his light-squared bishop out, it's fairly equal. With the exchange variant, the light-squared bishop is never a weakness, and so he positions out of the opening are generally equal so it's seen as drawish.

However, I think in the long run, White has a much more aggressive game with the exchange and that's why French players usually hate it. They generally enter the French for a reason and expect that the exchange won't be played due to its reputation as drawish. So the exchange forces them to play much sharper counterplay than they were likely seeking by playing French to begin with...in other words, they must accurately defend against sharp tactics! The game you exampled is quite common of the counterpressure between e and h files that often results from White's early control over the b1-h7 diagonal. And also quite common of what happens when Black's counterplay is inaccurate.
I agree with static. I dislike the French, so, as white, I typically go for the exchange or advance.

As a tactical player, I find exchanging to be quite good against the defensiveness of the French (as well as the Caro Kann). I either exchange or advance in both of these dreadfully defensive structures.

I definitely win more (or lose less) with white if I don't let them play a closed French.
if you're having good results with it, then keep going

I think it's always a bit too early to talk about an opening being "drawish" at move 3. Yeah, the pawn structure is symmetrical, but either side has the option of choosing "interesting" setups, perhaps even aim for opposite sides castling or something...
Agreed Lightsss. I think some of the sharpest games I've played ended up in some exchange French games where I castled queenside!

I think all these "that opening is a bit drawish" ideas come from people paying far too much attention to what is being said about openings from the highest levels of play. Keep in mind that if you aren't a professional chess player with months and months of preparation under your belt before going into a position, no opening is going to give you a high probability of drawing, they're all just as likely to win for either side depending on how well you take advantage of the weaknesses that develop.
"Keep in mind that if you aren't a professional chess player with months and months of preparation under your belt before going into a position, no opening is going to give you a high probability of drawing, they're all just as likely to win for either side depending on how well you take advantage of the weaknesses that develop."

In other words: Amateurs tend to blunder.
If you're having good results with a specific opening which happens to not be 'fashionable' on the highest level (on which we're not playing), please continue to play it.
I love the French, but recently started the laying the caro cause I hate the exchange variation so much , I seem to have terrible record in the exchnage
Thank you for proving my point, chips.

Fuck the french, and fuck the caro.

Always destroy the potential of the French and the Caro with exchanges and advances. I hate your Caro, chips, and I hate all you French players.

Tactics for the win.

Don't ban me because i said a dirty word, mods. -.-
Against the french and the Caro, I like to play 2.b3 and after 2.(...) d5, simply 3.Bb2, in an aim for castling on the queen side and opening the d file soon as possible. The idea of playing a minor or even inferior line against this openings works very often, because they take black out of the book soon, and chances are they are quiet positional players that know the main lines really well, so they'll quite probably feel uncomfortable.

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