The Advance Variation is a popular and direct way of meeting the ultra-solid French Defence. Very early on in the game White opts to fix the pawn structure and establishes a genuine space advantage, upon which he later hopes to mount a serious attack. This method of playing against the French Defence has become a firm favorite among uncompromising Grandmasters such as Alexei Shirov, England's Nigel Short, and the rising star in Russia, Alexander Grischuk. In this book openings expert Sam Collins explains the strategy and tactics of this dynamic opening, studying both the main lines as well as...