French Defense 2. d4 d5
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Statistics from Lichess
75,437,698 games: White 47.8% / Draw 5.3% / Black 46.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Advance Variation | 23,836,37423.8M | |
| Exchange Variation | 22,189,22322.2M | |
| Paulsen Variation | 17,418,20017.4M | |
| Tarrasch Variation | 8,978,0479M | |
| Schlechter Variation | 1,714,1551.7M | |
| Diemer-Duhm Gambit | 371,448371K | |
| Alapin Gambit | 251,598252K | |
| 223,822224K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.43 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 50% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 13.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 37.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 44.9M | |
| 2200 and up | 8M | |
| Masters, over the board | 140K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – So, W.
- Karjakin, S. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
French Defense (ECO C00, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 (2 moves).
In 75,437,698 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.8%, Black 46.9% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. e5, in 32% of those games.
It branches into 10 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Advance Variation and French Defense: Exchange Variation. In all, 176 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 2…d5
3. Nd2 (Tarrasch Variation) scores best for White: 53.4%, with White winning 50.5% and Black 43.7% of 9M games. The most played answer, 3. e5, scores lowest: 47.9% in 23.8M games. Stockfish's first choice is 3. Nc3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
This line peaked in 2018 at 3.6% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 2.9% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3.1% | 1,118,744 |
| 2017 | 3.5% | 1,928,981 |
| 2018 | 3.6% | 2,850,007 |
| 2019 | 3.3% | 4,149,097 |
| 2020 | 3.1% | 9,160,571 |
| 2021 | 2.8% | 10,794,505 |
| 2022 | 2.7% | 10,094,562 |
| 2023 | 2.8% | 10,464,116 |
| 2024 | 2.8% | 10,136,396 |
| 2025 | 2.9% | 10,224,514 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 2.9% | 3,225,783 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (10)
Transpositions
All 176 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
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Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense (C00)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-2