French Defense: Advance Variation 4. c3 Nc6
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Statistics from Lichess
12,342,906 games: White 45.7% / Draw 4.6% / Black 49.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Paulsen Attack | 8,927,3078.9M | |
| 1,356,5411.4M | ||
| 696,533697K | ||
| Kupreichik Variation | 659,192659K | |
| 329,752330K | ||
| 109,466109K | ||
| 68,08168K | ||
| 32,60233K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.19 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 Nh6 7. Bd3 cxd4 8. O-O Bd7 9. b4 Rc8
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).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.4M | |
| 1400–1799 | 6.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 7.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.1M | |
| Masters, over the board | 11K |
Master games
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Grischuk, A. – Caruana, F.
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 4. c3 Nc6 (4 moves).
In 12,342,906 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.7%, Black 49.6% and 4.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Nf3, in 72% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Advance Variation, Paulsen Attack and French Defense: Advance Variation, Kupreichik Variation. In all, 10 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 4…Nc6
The most played answer, 5. Nf3 (Paulsen Attack), also scores best for White: 49.3%, with White winning 46.9% and Black 48.4% of 8.9M games. Of the main answers, 5. Bb5 scores lowest: 43.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. Nf3.
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 0.45% and 0.53% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.51% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.46% | 165,733 |
| 2017 | 0.51% | 282,781 |
| 2018 | 0.53% | 414,483 |
| 2019 | 0.49% | 615,954 |
| 2020 | 0.48% | 1,403,706 |
| 2021 | 0.45% | 1,752,747 |
| 2022 | 0.45% | 1,698,778 |
| 2023 | 0.47% | 1,761,446 |
| 2024 | 0.48% | 1,717,140 |
| 2025 | 0.51% | 1,760,454 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.51% | 554,403 |
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 (2)
All 10 named lines that continue from here
- C02 Kupreichik Variation 5 moves
- C02 Paulsen Attack 5 moves
- C02 French Defense: Advance Variation, Euwe Variation 5 moves
- C02 French Defense: Advance Variation, Main Line 6 moves
- C02 French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit 6 moves
- C02 French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian Variation 6 moves
- C02 Hector Variation 7 moves
- C02 Main Line 8 moves
- C02 Hector Variation 8 moves
- C02 French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Sørensen Variation 9 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Advance Variation (C02)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-advance-variation-4