Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Classical Variation
6/6
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Nf6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Classical Variation6.6M games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
1.5%97k49%
0.5%32k42%
0.2%16k51%
0.2%11k47%
0.1%4.6k43%
Famous games in this line31k 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)Kasparov, Garry (2851) – Shirov, Alexei (2751)Dominguez Perez, Leinier (2758) – Caruana, Fabiano (2835)Anand, Viswanathan (2817) – Nakamura, Hikaru (2774)Karjakin, Sergey (2776) – Carlsen, Magnus (2815)Heroes of this opening Caruana, Fabiano · Karjakin, Sergey · Carlsen, Magnus · Kasparov, Garry
- Family
- French Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C11
- Line
- 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Henneberger Variation4.Be3French Defense: Classical Variation, Swiss Variation4.Bd3French Defense: Classical Variation, Steinitz Variation4.e5 · 5 deeper linesFrench Defense: Classical Variation, Delayed Exchange Variation4.exd5 · 1 deeper line
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