Classical Variation, Normal Variation

The Normal Variation, 4...Be7, is the traditional answer to the pin in the Classical French. By interposing the bishop, Black frees the f6-knight, so the e4-pawn is attacked again. The natural ways to protect it, 5. f3 or 5. Bd3, fail because the bishop on g5 is undefended. After 5. f3 Nxe4 6. Bxe7 Nxc3 7. Bxd8 Nxd1 8. Bxc7 Nxb2, Black comes out a pawn ahead. White therefore has to resolve the central tension at once.

The main reply, chosen in about three games out of four, is 5. e5. It gains a tempo on the knight and closes the center. After 5...Nfd7 the dark-squared bishops are usually exchanged, and the play revolves around the pawn chain. The alternative 5. Bxf6, the Richter Attack, gives up the bishop to remove a defender of the center instead. The quieter 5. exd5 heads for an Exchange-type structure, and Black has scored slightly better than White after it on Lichess. Across the variation as a whole, White scores somewhat better, and the engine gives White a slight edge.