Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation
7/7
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Bb44.Bd2
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation226k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
39%89k48%
16%37k48%
16%35k54%
13%28k51%
8.4%19k52%
3.5%7.9k51%
1.4%3.2k46%
0.9%2.1k51%
0.7%1.5k49%
0.3%62946%
Famous games in this line235 master games
Ivanchuk, Vassily (2762) – Vaganian, Rafael A (2594)Timman, Jan H (2620) – Huebner, Robert (2620)Bernadskiy, V. (2589) – Short, N. (2633)Timman, Jan H (2620) – Vaganian, Rafael A (2600)Timman, Jan H (2590) – Huebner, Robert (2615)Kurnosov, Igor (2527) – Rustemov, Alexander (2604)Hort, Vlastimil (2545) – Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus (2570)Muzychuk, A. (2545) – Dzagnidze, N. (2570)Heroes of this opening Bernadskiy, V. · Timman, Jan H · Kurnosov, Igor
- Family
- French Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C15
- Line
- 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bd2
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation, Schwarz's Line4…Ne7 5.Nb1French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation, Kunin Double Gambit4…dxe4 5.Qg4 Qxd4French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation, Main Line4…dxe4 5.Qg4 Nf6 6.Qxg7 Rg8 7.Qh6
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