C15 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation

7/7
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Bb44.Bd2
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation226k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
39%89k48%
16%37k48%
16%35k54%
13%28k51%
8.4%19k52%
3.5%7.9k51%
1.4%3.2k46%
0.9%2.1k51%
0.7%1.5k49%
0.3%62946%
Famous games in this line235 master games
Ivanchuk, Vassily (2762)Vaganian, Rafael A (2594)2007½–½Timman, Jan H (2620)Huebner, Robert (2620)1986½–½Bernadskiy, V. (2589)Short, N. (2633)20221–0Timman, Jan H (2620)Vaganian, Rafael A (2600)19861–0Timman, Jan H (2590)Huebner, Robert (2615)1987½–½Kurnosov, Igor (2527)Rustemov, Alexander (2604)20041–0Hort, Vlastimil (2545)Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus (2570)1986½–½Muzychuk, A. (2545)Dzagnidze, N. (2570)2014½–½
Heroes of this opening Bernadskiy, V. · Timman, Jan H · Kurnosov, Igor
Category
Semi-Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C15
Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bd2
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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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