C00 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black

French Defense: St. George Defense, Traditional Line

12/12
1.e4e62.d4a63.Nf3b54.Bd3c55.c3Bb76.O-ONf6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: St. George Defense, Traditional Line19k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
43%8.2k55%
21%4.1k52%
20%3.8k55%
9%1.7k57%
4.9%94152%
0.5%9842%
0.5%9149%
0.4%7751%
0.3%6050%
0.3%5957%
Famous games in this line103 master games
Kasparov, Garry (2812) – Short, Nigel D (2698)20110–1Miroshnichenko, E. (2606) – Carlsen, M. (2834)20180–1Iskusnyh, S. (2482) – Khismatullin, D. (2654)20150–1Tukmakov, Vladimir B (2590) – Sahovic, Dragutin (2475)19831–0Lutz, Christopher (2610) – Laveryd, Peter (2420)19991–0Dolmatov, Sergey (2610) – Giffard, Nicolas (2410)19940–1Browne, Walter S (2500) – Ljubojevic, Ljubomir (2510)19721–0Torre, Eugenio (2430) – Ljubojevic, Ljubomir (2565)19730–1
Heroes of this opening Short, Nigel D · Carlsen, M. · Khismatullin, D. · Tukmakov, Vladimir B
Family
French Defense
Category
Semi-Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C00
Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 a6 3. Nf3 b5 4. Bd3 c5 5. c3 Bb7 6. O-O Nf6
★ Read the guide: French DefenseExplore all 212 French Defense lines →
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Nearby lines in the family
French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian VariationC02 2…d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 …French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Lasker VariationC12 2…d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 …French Defense: Winawer Variation, Classical VariationC18 2…d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 …
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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