C10 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Paulsen Variation
5/5
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Paulsen Variation16.0M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
3.8%600k45%
0.7%113k46%
0.6%101k52%
0.6%91k44%
0.4%60k48%
Famous games in this line71k master games
Aronian, L. (2775) – Carlsen, M. (2872)So, W. (2815) – Carlsen, M. (2832)Caruana, F. (2817) – So, W. (2822)Karjakin, Sergey (2750) – Carlsen, M. (2882)Karjakin, Sergey (2778) – Carlsen, Magnus (2843)Kasparov, Garry (2851) – Anand, Viswanathan (2769)Kasparov, Garry (2851) – Anand, Viswanathan (2769)Kasparov, G. (2812) – Caruana, F. (2807)Heroes of this opening So, W. · Karjakin, Sergey · Kasparov, Garry · Caruana, F.
- Family
- French Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C10
- Line
- 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Marshall GambitC10 3…c5French Defense: Winawer VariationC15 3…Bb4 · 33 deeper linesFrench Defense: Classical VariationC11 3…Nf6 · 40 deeper linesFrench Defense: Rubinstein VariationC10 3…dxe4 · 5 deeper lines
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