C01 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Exchange Variation
5/5
1.e4e62.d4d53.exd5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Exchange Variation20.8M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
94%19.6M50%
5.1%1.1M44%
0.5%101k46%
0.3%57k45%
0.1%21k32%
0%9.9k43%
0%8.6k45%
0%3.9k45%
0%2.4k37%
0%1.8k42%
Famous games in this line8.2k master games
Aronian, L.. (2781) – Carlsen, M.. (2847)Carlsen, M. (2832) – Nakamura, Hi (2786)Carlsen, M. (2832) – Firouzja, Alireza (2767)Carlsen, M. (2830) – Erigaisi, Arjun (2762)Aronian, L. (2767) – Caruana, F. (2822)Carlsen, M. (2832) – Grischuk, A. (2750)Nepomniachtchi, I. (2754) – Erigaisi, Arjun (2801)Nakamura, Hi (2787) – Harikrishna, P. (2763)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, M. · Aronian, L.. · Grischuk, A. · Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Family
- French Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C01
- Line
- 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Exchange Variation, Monte Carlo VariationC01 3…exd5 4.c4French Defense: Exchange Variation, Bogoljubow VariationC01 3…exd5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bg5 Nc6
Nearby lines in the family
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