The French Defense answers 1.e4 with a plan instead of a fight for symmetry: build the e6-d5 pawn wall, let White have the space, then spend the whole middlegame chipping at the center White has to defend. It suits players who like knowing what their next three moves are for.
The cost is famous: the c8 bishop starts the game behind its own pawns. The Caro-Kann avoids that problem, the French accepts it in exchange for a faster, sharper counterattack with ...c5. This lesson walks the classical Steinitz structure, where those trade-offs are clearest.
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Move 1 of 12
e4
White's big central claim, and the move you are about to answer with a structure rather than a staring contest.
Common deviations