C17 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Bogoljubow Variation

9/9
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Bb44.e5c55.Bd2
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Bogoljubow Variation134k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
55%73k42%
17%23k50%
13%17k43%
5.1%6.7k45%
4.9%6.5k44%
2.6%3.5k51%
1.2%1.6k46%
0.5%69747%
0.5%68636%
0.2%33224%
Famous games in this line1.5k master games
Aronian, L. (2782) – Duda, J. (2738)2021½–½Keymer, Vincent (2731) – Praggnanandhaa, R. (2741)20250–1Mastrovasilis, D. (2627) – Nepomniachtchi, I. (2782)20210–1Navara, D. (2744) – Bartel, Mat (2640)20161–0Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan (2642) – Aronian, L. (2737)20251–0Tari, A. (2654) – Van Foreest, Jorden (2715)20221–0Landa, Konstantin (2644) – Naiditsch, Arkadij (2710)20130–1Bartel, Mat (2641) – Rapport, R. (2701)2014½–½
Heroes of this opening Praggnanandhaa, R. · Nepomniachtchi, I. · Navara, D. · Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan
Family
French Defense
Category
Semi-Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C17
Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. Bd2
★ Read the guide: French DefenseExplore all 212 French Defense lines →
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Icelandic DefenseC17 5…Ne7 6.f4
Nearby lines in the family
French Defense: Reversed Philidor FormationC00 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 Nc6 …French Defense: Advance Variation, Paulsen AttackC02 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Wolf GambitC15 4.Ne2 Nf6 5.Bg5
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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