Somehow I don't like to play against the French Defense. This has nothing to do with the results I score against it, but mainly with the lines in which the centre is closed and my opponent starts to pick at my centre with sneaky moves like c5 and f6...
So, since I started to take chess study serious last year, I have experimented with various recipes against the French, all aimed at giving the game an open character. I have tried 2.f4, delaying d4 for as long as possible so that the disappointed French Fanatic does not have his favourite pawn to play against. I also used 2.b3 with some success, mainly because most black players can't find the proper antidote against the strange things that are happening on the other side of the board, for example:
It just does not look like an average French game!
Last year I bought Viktor Moskalenko's new book "The Flexible French" hoping to find many more weapons against (excuse me in advance) the spoiler move 1....e6, but I was a little disappointed that I only got introduced to 2.Nc3 as a viable option against the French. 2.f4 and 2.b3 did not even make it to the book! You have to very careful when reading this book by the way, as Moskalenko's skillful writing may lead you into temptation to try this defense yourself. So read at your own risk, you were warned!
Moskalenko features the move 2.Nc3 in a chapter with the promising name "Russian Roulette", as an alternative to 2.Nf3, quoting... "Also possible is 2.Nc3, for Closed Sicilian adepts". When I read this I knew that this was the move for me! This also was the only reference to this move, so I started to suspect that this move could actually be very strong. And with a conspiracy theory mindset I started to believe that the French Defense community just does not want us normal people to know about this move!
Just to get the idea of what the main line of the 2.Nc3 could look like, you can browse through the following game to get an idea. Moskalenko refers to this variation as the Zakharov variation because of the following game:
This game features the general idea of exchanging the d- and e-pawn for the black c- and f-pawn, creating a situation of 2 pawn islands versus 3, blocking the centre with pieces in Nimzowitz' style, and a kingside attack using the g-pawn. Sorry, blah, blah, blah! The stubborn French Defense player will feel comfortable in this kind of game though. But, to offer consolation, there are many ways to go wrong, for the simple reason that most black players won't be familiar with the white setup. You just have to be carefull in correspondence chess since here on chess.com all players have a great opening knowledge 
.
Last week I played a game against a French Defense Fanatic in my chess club. I had prepared the main line with 2.Nc3 but spent most time on 3....c5, a deviation that is not necessarily very strong, but seemed a natural move to grab some space. It paid off, this is the game:
Looking back at it now, the non-standard move 2.Nc3 helped me beat a very strong opponent seemingly without much effort. I probably should get out more often, but somehow I can't get this game out of my mind! It is pretty pathetic, and my wife dared me to admit on my blog that I dreamed about this game - so here you go: "I am sick, I dream about beating the French Defense!"
I just think it's my unconsciousness that tells me that every successful fight against the French Defense is worth celebrating over and over again!
To be complete: a review of "The Flexible French" can be found here: http://www.chessvibes.com/reviews/review-the-flexible-french/
And if you want to study the French Defense Fanatics and their behaviour, you can mingle among them. This is where they are hiding: http://www.chess.com/groups/view/french-defense-fanatics