Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Classical Variation, Steinitz Variation
7/7
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Nf64.e5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Classical Variation, Steinitz Variation3.4M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
93%3.1M50%
4.3%143k46%
3%102k49%
0.1%2.6k29%
0%1.5k26%
0%1.4k26%
0%70822%
0%42613%
0%21123%
0%14127%
Famous games in this line16k master games
Karjakin, Sergey (2750) – Carlsen, M. (2882)Kasparov, G. (2812) – Caruana, F. (2807)Caruana, F. (2764) – Carlsen, M. (2853)Carlsen, Magnus (2837) – Morozevich, Alexander (2770)Dominguez Perez, Leinier (2758) – Caruana, Fabiano (2835)Karjakin, Sergey (2776) – Carlsen, Magnus (2815)Aronian, L. (2767) – Caruana, F. (2822)Ivanchuk, Vassily (2765) – Carlsen, Magnus (2823)Heroes of this opening Caruana, Fabiano · Carlsen, Magnus · Karjakin, Sergey · Aronian, L.
- Family
- French Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C11
- Line
- 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Gledhill Attack4…Nfd7 5.Qg4French Defense: Classical Variation, Shirov-Anand Variation4…Nfd7 5.Nce2French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Boleslavsky Variation4…Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Bradford Attack Variation4…Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Qg4
Nearby lines in the family
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