Semi-Open · a defense for Black

French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Sørensen Variation

17/17

1.e4e62.d4d53.e5c54.c3Nc65.Nf3Qb66.Bd3cxd47.cxd4Bd78.O-ONxd49.Ng5

Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid

French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Sørensen Variation14k games · Black to move

MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore

5.9k32%

2.4k52%

1.3k47%

1.1k40%

1.1k49%

90751%

70851%

25142%

23447%

15641%

Famous games in this line21 master games

Skytte, Rasmus (2373) – Papp, Gabor (2589)2020½–½ Smeets, Jan (2461) – Stellwagen, Daniel (2426)2002½–½ Masserey, Yvan (2345) – Farago, Ivan (2515)19950–1 Masserey, Yvan (2345) – Dgebuadze, Alexandre (2505)19980–1 Opl, Klaus (2340) – Luther, Thomas (2509)20001–0 Schmedders, Hans Gerd (2249) – Plaskett, Jim (2513)19990–1 Fullbrook, Nigel (2260) – Gligoric, Svetozar (2487)20000–1 Roehrich, Stefan (2230) – Ivanov, Sergey (2505)19930–1

Heroes of this opening Farago, Ivan · Dgebuadze, Alexandre · Opl, Klaus · Plaskett, Jim

Family: French Defense
Category: Semi-Open
First move: 1.e4
ECO: C02
Line: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Ng5

Gambit

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Nearby lines in the family

French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Duras Variation2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 …French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Grigoriev Variation3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 …French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Leningrad Variation3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 …

From the archives

Paris challenged London by correspondence in January 1834; the match took about two years, Paris met 1.e4 with 1...e6, and Paris won. The defence has carried the name ever since. Botvinnik and Korchnoi built careers on its cramped-then-counterpunch character: concede space, then break with ...c5 or ...f6 at the right moment.

Study this opening

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