Semi-Open · a defense for Black

French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Maróczy Variation

12/12
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Nf64.Bg5Be75.e5Nfd76.h4a6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Maróczy Variation94k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
55%51k56%
12%11k45%
9.8%9.2k48%
6.7%6.3k46%
6.4%6.0k45%
4.1%3.8k49%
2%1.9k46%
1.5%1.4k49%
1%95351%
0.6%59341%
Famous games in this line178 master games
Degraeve, Jean Marc (2540) – Gurevich, Mikhail (2620)19971–0Sochacki, C.. (2477) – Maghsoodloo, Parham (2676)20211–0Van den Doel, Erik (2567) – Feygin, Michael (2569)20091–0Perez Candelario, Man (2569) – Arribas Lopez, A. (2559)20151–0Wan, Yunguo (2462) – Zhou, Weiqi (2605)2011½–½Amonatov, Farrukh (2569) – Sambuev, Bator (2489)2006½–½Khalifman, Alexander (2515) – Gurevich, Mikhail (2540)19871–0Vovk, Yuri (2561) – Naumkin, Igor (2475)20081–0
Heroes of this opening Degraeve, Jean Marc · Sochacki, C.. · Van den Doel, Erik · Perez Candelario, Man
Family
French Defense
Category
Semi-Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C13
Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 a6
Aggressive
★ Read the guide: French DefenseExplore all 212 French Defense lines →
Keep exploring
Nearby lines in the family
French Defense: St. George Defense, Traditional Line2…a6 3.Nf3 b5 4.Bd3 c5 5.c3 …French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian Variation3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 …French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Lasker Variation4…Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3
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
Open in the opening tree →Videos on YouTube ↗Wikipedia: French Defense ↗