Semi-Open · a defense for Black
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation
15/15
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nc3Bb44.e5c55.a3Bxc3+6.bxc3Ne77.a4Nbc68.Nf3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation11k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
41%4.5k45%
16%1.8k38%
11%1.3k43%
6.5%73244%
5.5%62042%
4.7%52841%
3.4%37646%
2.9%32937%
2.9%32144%
1.5%16739%
Famous games in this line463 master games
Fischer, Robert James (2760) – Larsen, Bent (2660)Shirov, Alexei (2735) – Korobov, Anton (2684)Berg, Emanuel (2575) – Korobov, Anton (2671)Rechlis, G. (2521) – Harikrishna, P. (2725)Nunn, John DM (2610) – Jussupow, Artur (2625)Nunn, John DM (2617) – Wang, Hao (2610)Zhang, Zhong (2596) – Berkes, Ferenc (2630)Timman, Jan H (2550) – Kortschnoj, Viktor (2670)Heroes of this opening Fischer, Robert James · Shirov, Alexei · Korobov, Anton · Rechlis, G.
- Family
- French Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C19
- Line
- 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3
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From the archives
Paris challenged London by correspondence in January 1834; the match took about two years, Paris met 1.e4 with 1...e6, and Paris won. The defence 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