French Defense La Bourdonnais Variation
French Defense La Bourdonnais Variation
Definition
The La Bourdonnais Variation is an off-beat line of the French Defense that begins with the moves:
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bb5+
White immediately gives a check with the king’s-bishop, echoing the spirit of the Ruy Lopez. The idea is to provoke a slight concession in Black’s development—usually 3…Bd7—after which White may exchange on d7 or retreat the bishop, often steering play toward an improved version of the Exchange French. This line is catalogued in ECO as C00/C01 and is sometimes also called the “Chigorin Variation,” yet the earliest known games were played by the 19th-century French master Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, from whom the main name is derived.
Typical Move Orders
- 3…Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 – the most common. Black recaptures with the queen; the knight on b8 can now go to c6 without blocking the queen’s bishop, but the queen’s early exposure slightly restricts the freeing break …c5.
- 3…c6 4. Bd3 dxe4 5. Bxe4 Nf6 – Black blocks the check by interposing the c-pawn, transposing to a kind of Caro-Kann structure.
- 3…Nc6 4. exd5 exd5 – a sharp alternative that keeps pieces on the board but allows White to maintain the initiative with c4 or Nf3.
Strategic Ideas
For White
- Slightly disorganize Black’s queenside development by forcing …Bd7.
- Trade on d7, thereby reducing Black’s central tension and aiming for a solid, risk-free position resembling the Exchange French but with a misplaced black queen.
- Delay Nc3 or Nd2 to keep options open: c4, exd5, or even c3 followed by Nf3 and a kingside expansion.
For Black
- Accept the structural symmetry and rely on piece play: …c5 or …Nc6 strike the center once development is complete.
- Exploit White’s early bishop move by gaining time with …a6, …b5, or …Nc6-b4 against d4.
- Maintain flexibility in the light-squared bishop: if White trades on d7, the bishop can re-enter via c6 or b5 after …e6-e5.
Historical Significance
• The variation appeared as early as the famous La Bourdonnais –
McDonnell matches in 1834, long before systematic study of the French
Defense.
• Mikhail Chigorin later adopted the line in the 1880s, using it as a
surprise weapon against Wilhelm Steinitz and others.
• Although rarely seen in modern elite play, it remains popular in rapid,
blitz, and correspondence games because it sidesteps vast quantities of
deeply-analyzed French theory.
Illustrative Example
After the standard sequence 3…Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.Nc3 dxe4 6.Nxe4 Nc6 7.Nf3:
White has easy development and can choose between O-O-O with kingside pawn storms or a quiet short-castling plan, whereas Black must decide when and how to play …c5 without leaving the queen loose on d7.
Model Games
- La Bourdonnais – McDonnell, London 1834 – one of the earliest recorded examples; White’s enterprising approach foreshadows modern anti-theory systems.
- Chigorin – Steinitz, Havana 1889, Game 5 – Chigorin uses 3.Bb5+ to neutralize Steinitz’s preparation and steers the game into complex middlegame tactics.
- Svidler – Bareev, Russian Ch. 1999 – a contemporary illustration in which White leverages the misplaced queen to seize the initiative on the kingside.
Interesting Facts & Anecdotes
- The motif of an early Bb5+ against the French is older than the Ruy Lopez naming tradition; 19th-century French amateurs sometimes referred to it as “the attaque française inverse.”
- Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen used 3.Bb5+ in blitz against Vladimir Kramnik at the 2012 Tal Memorial, admitting afterward that he “wanted a French with almost no theory to remember.”
- Because White’s light-squared bishop is exchanged so early, engines initially evaluate the position as equal, yet practical results in databases show White scoring slightly above 55%—evidence that surprise value still matters!
Related Concepts
- Exchange French (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5)
- Wing Gambit vs. the French (1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4)
- Chigorin Systems in other openings (e.g., 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3)