C15 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Alekhine Gambit Accepted

10/10
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Bb44.Ne2dxe45.a3Bxc3+
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Alekhine Gambit Accepted61k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
100%61k58%
0.3%19642%
0%10%
Famous games in this line686 master games
Moussard, J. (2600) – Caruana, F. (2798)2024½–½Pichot, A. (2581) – Salem, AR. (2640)2025½–½Hector, Jonny (2640) – Lyrberg, Patrik (2577)20051–0Swiercz, D. (2620) – Mishra, Abhimanyu (2592)2023½–½Bauer, Christian (2627) – Pelletier, Yannick (2579)2006½–½Amonatov, Farrukh (2648) – Ivanov, Sergey1 (2551)20091–0Stripunsky, Alexander (2570) – Shulman, Yuri (2613)20100–1Solodovnichenko, Yuri (2574) – Edouard, Romain (2602)20111–0
Heroes of this opening Hector, Jonny · Amonatov, Farrukh · Shulman, Yuri · Solodovnichenko, Yuri
Family
French Defense
Category
Semi-Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C15
Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Ne2 dxe4 5. a3 Bxc3+
Gambit
★ Read the guide: French DefenseExplore all 212 French Defense lines →
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Alekhine Gambit, Kan VariationC15 6.Nxc3 Nc6
Nearby lines in the family
French Defense: Steinitz VariationC11 3…a6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nfd7French Defense: Advance Variation, Euwe VariationC02 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7French Defense: Advance Variation, Wade VariationC02 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Bd7
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
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