C18 · Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation
14/14
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Bb44.e5c55.a3Bxc3+6.bxc3Ne77.Qg4Qc7
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation106k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
72%77k46%
10%11k48%
2.8%3.0k40%
2.3%2.4k41%
1.9%2.0k37%
0.3%32530%
0.3%32152%
0.2%25941%
0.2%25132%
Famous games in this line2.4k master games
Anand, Viswanathan (2791) – Ivanchuk, Vassily (2779)Carlsen, M. (2830) – Rapport, R. (2719)Aronian, L. (2782) – Duda, J. (2756)Vachier Lagrave, M. (2775) – Radjabov, T. (2731)Karjakin, Sergey (2786) – Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2703)Karjakin, Sergey (2756) – Nepomniachtchi, I. (2721)Volokitin, And (2681) – Nepomniachtchi, I. (2773)Vachier Lagrave, M. (2728) – Rapport, R. (2720)Heroes of this opening Anand, Viswanathan · Carlsen, M. · Duda, J. · Karjakin, Sergey
- 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 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7
Sharp
★ Read the guide: French DefenseExplore all 212 French Defense lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation DeclinedC18 8.Bd3French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation, Main LineC18 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Ne2French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation, Paoli VariationC18 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Kd1
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