The "Template" in Chess
Every chess player who wants to improve his game will eventually need a special group of chess opening positions, a select number of key positions that he will know better than anyone else. Not simply an opening variation, but a tableau or template - an arrangement of pieces and pawns in which the player feels absolutely comfortable, and understands the various potentials of that position. The enterprising chess player will attempt to discover every nuance of his adopted tableau, mastering first one such key position then adding others. Some players will be expert in a dozen templates; others will use only four or five; some will specialize in gambits, others in strategical patterns.
One tableau that I have used arises in the French Defense, and can reliably be reached if White plays the Tarrasch System (3.Nd2) or even the Advance Variation (3.e5). This key position has been called the "Leningrad French" and appears after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nb6, for example.
The Knight on b6 is characteristic, and will be followed by placing Bishops on d7 and e7 with very smooth development. Next Black will play on the Queenside light squares, advancing his a-pawn and using the b5 and c4 squares for his pieces. Meanwhile, if White attempts to attack Kingside by arranging f2-f4-f5 Black will counter with ...g7-g6 and ...h7-h5 which, with a Black Rook on h8, acts to restrain and slow White's expansion.
Clearly Black is playing a static "structural" defense, an approach not to everybody's liking. There is no way to permanently stop White from rolling forward on the Kingside, though Black's activity on the other wing is quite dangerous. The games that follow merely show the value of a tableau in chess opening preparation, and how theory meets practice in real tournament chess. The ten games presented here cover the space of a dozen years, against opponents having a 2235 average rating.
Games
While the Leningrad French tableau certainly leads to exciting chess, the point is to find a template and make it your own. A little study will pay great dividends for the rest of your chess career!