C11 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black

French Defense: Classical Variation, Burn Variation, Main Line

14/14
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Nf64.Bg5dxe45.Nxe4Be76.Bxf6Bxf67.Nf3O-O
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Classical Variation, Burn Variation, Main Line162k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
39%63k61%
27%43k60%
11%17k51%
8.6%14k62%
5.5%9.0k57%
4.2%6.8k66%
2.5%4.0k50%
1.4%2.3k62%
0.3%52457%
0.3%45262%
Famous games in this line630 master games
Anand, Viswanathan (2762) – Shirov, Alexei (2746)2000½–½Anand, Viswanathan (2753) – Bareev, Evgeny (2729)2003½–½Anand, Viswanathan (2766) – Bareev, Evgeny (2714)20041–0Leko, Peter (2725) – Shirov, Alexei (2751)20000–1Leko, Peter (2740) – Ivanchuk, Vassily (2729)2006½–½Topalov, Veselin (2725) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2740)19971–0Topalov, Veselin (2735) – Bareev, Evgeny (2714)20041–0Ponomariov, Ruslan (2727) – Ivanchuk, Vassily (2717)20021–0
Heroes of this opening Topalov, Veselin · Anand, Viswanathan · Shirov, Alexei · Ponomariov, Ruslan
Family
French Defense
Category
Semi-Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C11
Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 O-O
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Nearby lines in the family
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Warsaw VariationC18 3…Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3 6.bxc3 …French Defense: Winawer Variation, Eingorn VariationC18 3…Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3 6.bxc3 …French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Bogoljubow VariationC12 4…Bb4 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Bxf6 gxf6 7.Qd2 …
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.

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