French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Boleslavsky Variation
French Defense: Steinitz Variation
Definition
The Steinitz Variation of the French Defense arises after the moves 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5. By immediately advancing the e-pawn, White chases the knight from f6 and claims space in the centre. The position is named for Wilhelm Steinitz, the first official world champion, who explored the line at the end of the 19th century.
How It Is Used in Play
- Space grab: 4.e5 gains territory and limits Black’s central pawn breaks.
- Long-term pawn chain: White locks the centre with pawns on e5 and d4 vs. Black’s on e6 and d5, dictating plans on the wings (White aims for kingside, Black for queenside).
- Typical continuations: 4…Nfd7 (main line), 4…Ne4 (Shirov–Kamsky line) or the counter-intuitive 4…Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6.
- Strategic themes:
- White may build up behind the pawn chain with f4, Nf3, Be3, Qd2, potentially castling queenside for a kingside pawn storm.
- Black strives for counterplay with …c5 and …f6, undermining d4/e5, and later …b6/…a5 on the queenside.
Historical & Strategic Significance
Steinitz’s advocacy of pawn chains and controlled space foreshadowed modern closed-centre strategy. The variation had a renaissance in the 1970s when players such as Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov used it as White, while Lev Psakhis and Alexander Volzhin championed Black’s resources.
Illustrative Game
[[Pgn| e4|e6|d4|d5|Nc3|Nf6|e5|Nfd7|f4|c5|Nf3|Nc6|Be3|Be7|Qd2|O-O|O-O-O|Qa5|Kb1|a6|dxc5|Bxc5 |Event "USSR Ch"|Date "1978"|White "Karpov"|Black "Psakhis"|Result "1/2-1/2" ]]Interesting Facts
- Steinitz used the idea of locking the centre as early as 1873, decades before hypermoderns formalised such concepts.
- The manoeuvre …f6 often appears multiple times—“playing …f6 twice” is a common joke among French aficionados, because Black may first sacrifice a pawn with …f6 exf6 Nxf6 and later repeat …f6 to finish the break.
- In the 1993 Las Palmas Candidates, Kramnik stunned Gelfand with a quiet queenside fianchetto (b3, Bb2) inside the Steinitz—showing the line’s flexibility.
Boleslavsky Variation (Sicilian Defense)
Definition
The Boleslavsky Variation is a branch of the Classical Sicilian: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6. By delaying …e5, Black develops quickly while keeping flexible central pawn breaks. Named after Soviet grandmaster Isaak Boleslavsky, who refined the set-up in the 1940s.
Plans & Typical Ideas
- …e5 thrust: Black often plays 6…e5, fixing a strong point on d5 but creating a backward pawn on d6 and a hole on d5.
- Minor-piece battle: After 7.Nb3 Be6 (or 7…a6), both sides manoeuvre knights toward d5 and d4.
- Pawn breaks: White can challenge with f4 or g4 (English Attack style), while Black seeks …d5, …b5 or …f5.
Theoretical Branches
- 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 — “Short System,” a favourite of Garry Kasparov as Black.
- 6.Bg5 e6 — Transposes to Richter-Rauzer lines; Black may keep the knight on c6, differing from the typical Najdorf.
- 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 — Combines English-Attack motifs with Boleslavsky structure.
Historical Moments
Boleslavsky pioneered this set-up in the 1945 USSR Championship, scoring convincing wins with the structure. Later it became a cornerstone of Bobby Fischer’s Sicilian repertoire and was heavily analysed by the Soviet “Najdorf school” (Polugaevsky, Tal, and Kasparov).
Model Game
[[Pgn| e4|c5|Nf3|d6|d4|cxd4|Nxd4|Nf6|Nc3|Nc6|Be2|e5|Nb3|Be7|O-O|O-O|Be3|Be6|f4|exf4|Rxf4|d5|exd5|Nxd5 |Event "Candidates"|Date "1971"|White "Fischer"|Black "Taimanov"|Result "1-0" ]]Interesting Facts & Anecdotes
- The critical position after 5…Nc6 was once considered dubious because of the d5 square weakness; modern engines, however, give Black full equality with precise play.
- Kasparov famously beat the IBM super-computer “Deep Thought” in 1989 using the Boleslavsky set-up, demonstrating Black’s dynamic resources.
- Isaak Boleslavsky never played a world-championship match, yet several of his opening ideas (including the “Boleslavsky Wall” in the King’s Indian) remain mainstream today.