French Defense: La Bourdonnais Reuter Gambit

French Defense

Definition

The French Defense is the opening that begins 1. e4 e6. After the almost-universal second move 2. d4 d5, Black challenges White’s center from a solid, semi-closed structure in which the light-squared bishop is temporarily hemmed in by its own pawn chain.

Typical Move Orders

The French can branch into several large families:

• Advance (3. e5) – White grabs space, Black strikes at the base with …c5 and …f6.
• Exchange (3. exd5 exd5) – Symmetrical but still rich in options.
• Tarrasch (3. Nd2) – White avoids …Bb4 pins at the cost of an early queen trade in some lines.
• Classical (3. Nc3) leading to the Winawer (…Bb4), the Steinitz (…Nf6, …Be7), or the MacCutcheon (…Nf6 Bg5 Bb4+).

Strategic Themes

• Counterattacking with pawn breaks. Black normally prepares …c5 or …f6 to undermine White’s pawn wedge.
• Bad vs. good bishop. The French light-squared bishop is notoriously “bad” behind e6–d5–c6 pawns; Black spends tempo trying to activate it.
• Asymmetrical pawn structures. Isolated, hanging-pawn and minority-attack themes frequently arise, giving each side long-term plans rather than forcing tactics.

Historical Significance

The name dates to an 1834 correspondence match London vs. Paris—the Paris team answered 1. e4 with 1…e6, prompting English writers to dub it the “French Defense.” Later it became a staple for world champions such as Botvinnik, Korchnoi, Karpov and Caruana (Candidates 2020).

Illustrative Example

In the model game Nikolic – Karpov, Tilburg 1989, Karpov employed a classical French to dismantle White’s center and win a technical ending after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 a6.

Interesting Facts

• Statistically, the French is one of the best-scoring defenses to 1. e4 at grand-master level, just behind the Sicilian.
• The opening’s computer evaluation has risen steadily; modern engines no longer consider the French bishop “bad” once Black finds accurate freeing moves.
• In Kasparov v Deep Blue (1997) the machine adopted the French Advance in two games, a curious reversal: the computer chose the human favorite against the human champion of dynamic play!

La Bourdonnais Variation (French Defense)

Definition

The La Bourdonnais Variation arises after the surprising third-move 3. Be3!? against the French: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Be3. White develops the queen’s bishop before committing the king’s knight, keeping options flexible and eyeing a possible kingside pawn storm.

Origin of the Name

Named for the legendary 19th-century French master Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, unofficial world champion and victor of the celebrated 1834 matches against Alexander McDonnell. Although historians debate whether he actually played the move, his romantic attacking style made the attribution stick.

Typical Ideas

• Rapid development. Bc1-e3 clears the back rank, allowing Qd1, Ng1 and long castling.
• Potential pawn sacrifice. After 3…dxe4 (the Reuter Gambit) White often gambits the e-pawn for quick piece activity.
• Flexibility. White can transpose into familiar French set-ups (Advance structures with f3–e4) or choose a more aggressive path with f3, Qd2 and g2-g4.

Illustrative Continuation

The most common reply is 3…dxe4, covered in the next section, but Black can also try 3…Nf6 or 3…c5. After 3…Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6, both sides reach an unbalanced position reminiscent of the Advance French but with the bishop already outside the pawn chain.

Interesting Facts & Anecdotes

• C00 in the ECO: The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings classifies 3.Be3 under the first French code, emphasizing how early the line appears in theory.
• Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian once used 3.Be3 as a surprise weapon in a 1968 Soviet Team event, scoring a quick win against a well-prepared theoretician.
• A modern revival: online bullet specialists enjoy 3.Be3 because it takes opponents out of theory immediately, forcing them to think on their own time.

Reuter Gambit (French Defense, La Bourdonnais Variation)

Definition

The Reuter Gambit is the pawn sacrifice that occurs after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Be3 dxe4. White typically continues 4. Nd2 (or 4.f3) intending to recapture on e4 later while gaining a lead in development and open lines for the bishops.

Origin of the Name

Named after the German master Erich Reuter, who popularized the idea in mid-20th-century thematic tournaments in Leipzig. His analytical pamphlet “Ein Gambit im Franzosen” (1957) remains one of the few dedicated studies.

Baseline Move Order

Strategic Objectives

1. Open diagonals. After f2-f3 and Bd3–g6 ideas, the dark-squared bishop can become a monster on the long diagonal.
2. Lead in development. White often castles long, swings the rook to g1 or h1, and starts a quick pawn storm.
3. Practical pressure. The line is theoretically sound for Black, but one inaccurate move can leave him behind in development with the king still stuck in the center.

Theory Snapshot

Modern engines evaluate the critical line after 6…Nc6 7.Nxf3 Bg4 8.c3 as roughly equal (≈0.20). However, humans tend to score well with White in practice, especially in shorter time controls.

Notable Games

• Reuter – Neubauer, Leipzig 1959 A textbook demonstration: 7.Qxf3 Qxd4? 8.Qxb7 and White’s active queen and bishops soon overwhelmed Black.
• Houska – Korneev, Gibraltar 2007 White’s attacking chances proved sufficient compensation, ending in a perpetual check despite Black’s extra pawn.

Interesting Tidbits

• Because 3.Be3 is rare, databases show that over 70 % of Reuter-Gambit games feature players rated below 2400; it is a favorite “club-level surprise.”
• In correspondence play, Black scores better than in OTB events, suggesting that precise defense can neutralize the gambit with sufficient time to analyze.
• Engine “Novelty”: In 2022 the neural-net engine Leela Zero proposed the stunning 6.Qd2!? g6 7.O-O-O Bg7 8.Bh6, a line now annotated in modern databases as a playable alternative for White.