C03 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Tarrasch Variation
5/5
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nd2
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Tarrasch Variation7.1M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
23%1.6M46%
2%139k43%
1%72k37%
0.8%57k44%
Famous games in this line44k master games
Carlsen, M. (2881) – Caruana, F. (2791)Carlsen, Magnus (2835) – Radjabov, Teimour (2784)Vachier Lagrave, M. (2796) – Caruana, F. (2808)Anand, V. (2786) – So, W. (2812)Karjakin, Sergey (2781) – Caruana, F. (2808)Karjakin, Sergey (2781) – Caruana, F. (2808)Vachier Lagrave, Maxime (2788) – Caruana, F. (2795)Nepomniachtchi, I. (2795) – Ding Liren (2788)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, Magnus · Caruana, F. · Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Family
- French Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C03
- Line
- 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open SystemC07 3…c5 · 8 deeper linesFrench Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Modern SystemC03 3…a6French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Guimard DefenseC03 3…Nc6 · 2 deeper linesFrench Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed VariationC05 3…Nf6 · 4 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