C18 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Classical Variation

12/12
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Bb44.e5c55.a3Bxc3+6.bxc3Qc7
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Classical Variation131k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
41%54k47%
28%37k52%
11%14k51%
5.6%7.3k50%
2.8%3.7k50%
2.2%2.9k44%
1.9%2.5k54%
1.7%2.2k50%
1.4%1.8k46%
1.3%1.7k46%
Famous games in this line1.8k master games
Caruana, F. (2786) – Rapport, R. (2776)20220–1Karjakin, Sergey (2776) – Ivanchuk, Vassily (2779)2011½–½Caruana, F. (2792) – Rapport, R. (2763)20211–0Anand, V. (2751) – Rapport, R. (2763)2021½–½Karjakin, Sergey (2773) – Duda, J. (2737)20181–0Radjabov, Teimour (2744) – Ponomariov, Ruslan (2744)20101–0Kasparov, Garry (2795) – Short, Nigel D (2690)19971–0Karjakin, Sergey (2759) – Rapport, R. (2691)20141–0
Heroes of this opening Karjakin, Sergey · Rapport, R. · Caruana, F. · Radjabov, Teimour
Family
French Defense
Category
Semi-Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C18
Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qc7
★ Read the guide: French DefenseExplore all 212 French Defense lines →
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Nearby lines in the family
French Defense: St. George Defense, Traditional LineC00 2…a6 3.Nf3 b5 4.Bd3 c5 5.c3 …French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian VariationC02 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 …French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Lasker VariationC12 3…Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 …
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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