Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Boleslavsky Variation
13/13
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Nf64.e5Nfd75.f4c56.Nf3Nc67.Be3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Boleslavsky Variation773k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
39%299k47%
27%207k48%
16%121k51%
12%94k51%
1.7%13k45%
1.3%10k44%
1%7.6k42%
0.7%5.4k47%
0.4%3.5k51%
0.4%2.8k52%
Famous games in this line13k 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)Dominguez Perez, Leinier (2758) – Caruana, Fabiano (2835)Karjakin, Sergey (2776) – Carlsen, Magnus (2815)Aronian, L. (2767) – Caruana, F. (2822)Gukesh, D. (2732) – Carlsen, M. (2856)Heroes of this opening Caruana, Fabiano · Karjakin, Sergey · Carlsen, Magnus · Aronian, L.
- Family
- French Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C11
- Line
- 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3
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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