Caissa Codex
C02

French Defense: Advance Variation 3. e5 c5

Chess diagram: French Defense: Advance Variation after 3…c5

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

22,931,690 games: White 45.0% / Draw 4.5% / Black 50.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
16,784,77016.8M
Nimzowitsch System 3,149,5273.1M
603,093603K
Steinitz Variation 505,895506K
Nimzowitsch Attack 460,652461K
456,438456K
404,499404K
305,935306K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 21, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.27 The position is about equal

Best play: 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O Ng6 8. Be3 Be7

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 53% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 5.7M
1400–1799 16M
1800–2199 12.4M
2200 and up 1.6M
Masters, over the board 15K

Master games

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: Advance Variation (ECO C02, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Advance Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 (3 moves).

In 22,931,690 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.0%, Black 50.4% and 4.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. c3, in 73% of those games.

It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Advance Variation, Nimzowitsch System and French Defense: Advance Variation, Steinitz Variation. In all, 19 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 3…c5

The most played answer, 4. c3, also scores best for White: 48.4%, with White winning 46.1% and Black 49.2% of 16.8M games. Of the main answers, 4. Nf3 scores lowest: 43.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. c3.

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 has stayed between 0.85% and 1.0% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.9% in 2025).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.97%345,347
20171.0%553,664
20181%781,543
20190.94%1,171,317
20200.9%2,639,304
20210.86%3,351,486
20220.85%3,191,765
20230.87%3,279,263
20240.87%3,129,779
20250.9%3,127,782
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.89%971,106

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 (5)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3…c5, the position after French Defense: Advance Variation also goes on to:

All 19 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Advance Variation (C02)”. Lichess data as of 21 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-advance-variation-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-advance-variation-2