C02 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Advance Variation, Main Line
11/11
1.e4e62.d4d53.e5c54.c3Nc65.Nf3Qb66.a3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Advance Variation, Main Line1.4M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
25%360k45%
21%303k46%
14%203k46%
13%190k51%
12%170k50%
2.4%34k51%
0.5%7.7k42%
0.3%5.0k41%
0.1%2.0k42%
Famous games in this line4.4k master games
Grischuk, A. (2792) – Caruana, F. (2791)Caruana, Fabiano (2842) – Wei, Yi (2732)Nepomniachtchi, I. (2779) – Caruana, F. (2782)Firouzja, Alireza (2751) – Nakamura, Hi (2802)Caruana, F. (2803) – Praggnanandhaa, R. (2747)Grischuk, A. (2750) – Vachier Lagrave, M. (2795)Vachier Lagrave, M. (2778) – Rapport, R. (2747)Shirov, Alexei (2746) – Anand, Viswanathan (2762)Heroes of this opening Caruana, Fabiano · Firouzja, Alireza · Vachier Lagrave, M.
- 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. a3
Keep exploring
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From the archives
In 1834 the city of Paris beat the city of London in a correspondence match opening with 1...e6, and the defense 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