The French

The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages. Black often gains counterattacking possibilities on the queenside while White tends to concentrate on the kingside…The French Defence is named after a match played by correspondence between the cities of London and Paris in 1834 (although earlier examples of games with the opening do exist). It was Chamouillet, one of the players of the Paris team, who persuaded the others to adopt this defence. (Source: Wikipedia)

The French Defence opens with: 1. e4 e6

Below are chesspoems translated from the French Defense

Gioachino Greco vs NN (1620)

estimate criss-crosses wink and cord 

mimed beef underneath butt 
strands and combs

Mrs. F vs The Turk (Automaton) (Philadelphia (1827))

estimated centre, diagonal path callously 
centers or combs wink and 
textured elder shrinks hour 

drugged riddle, blessed hour mines 
and yelps resignation and forever 

reproduced dark, fortunate ampersand, any 
ampersand lights cog inside globe 

joint gear, the proud strategy 
inside radar

Robert James Fischer vs Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren (Tunisia (1967))

estimated centre criss-crosses a wink 

punctuation (punctuation) forgets blessing or iron 
or exit cites butt and 
inevitable mime within elderly dark 

drawn weed or L-shaped fork 
round knight irons underneath plaster
 
Paul Keres vs Verbac (Correspondence (1933))

this estimate, permanence diligently works 
diagonal path a global memory 

binary texture or series 
mimics maniacally
 
Mikhail Chigorin vs Siegbert Tarrasch (Petersburg (1893))

estimated punctuation zealously thinks any 
curiousity blazes negative, any wink 

opposite confession and each wink 
tickets any iron upon opposition 
rescues horizon and fork 

the weedy punctuation (punctuation) or instant 

Where is transposed isolation?
toward weed 

photograph fretfully strands or yawns 
horizon, ampersand fretfully evolves butt 

whispered punctuation, the photograph or 
elder, confession or elder or 
viewpoint hunches clutter beneath texture 

What is each contained suburb?

this other, globe beside shoreline 
exists or blesses punctuation 

verbose half, the wrinkle 
fretfully spends
 
Aron Nimzowitsch vs Systemsson (Copenhagen (1927))

each plaster, each savory cord 
noise interrupts cord and noise 

that wooden radar closely 
traps bust, that cord 
stains or traps