French Defense: Advance Variation, Euwe Variation
The Euwe Variation is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7, a main line of the Advance French. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
2,545,173 games: White 44.7% / Draw 4.7% / Black 50.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 817,637818K | ||
| 536,319536K | ||
| 483,163483K | ||
| 246,127246K | ||
| 201,913202K | ||
| 47,47747K | ||
| 41,86942K | ||
| 39,56440K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.28 The position is about equal
Best play: 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O Ng6 8. g3 cxd4 9. cxd4 f6 10. Be3 fxe5
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 54% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 192K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 345K | |
| Masters, over the board | 5,444 |
Master games
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Topalov, V. – 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
Description
The Euwe Variation is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7, a main line of the Advance French. Instead of the usual 5...Qb6, Black plays the bishop move first: since ...Bd7 is usually played sooner or later anyway, Black makes it at once and waits for White to show their hand.
History
5...Bd7 was mentioned by Greco as early as 1620. It is known as the Euwe Variation and was popularised by Viktor Korchnoi in the 1970s.
White's sixth move
- 6.a3 is answered by 6...f6, after which modern theory says Black at least equalises. The lines are complex, but the main point is that a3 is a wasted move when Black's queen is not on b6, so Black uses the extra tempo to attack White's centre at once.
- 6.Be2 and 6.dxc5 are the common continuations.
- 6.Bb5 is immediately refuted by 6...Nxe5.
The numbers
On Lichess Black wins 50.6% of the 2.5 million games and White 44.7%. The picture changes with rating: Black wins 54.0% between 1400 and 1799, but from 2200 up White is slightly ahead, 47.3% against 46.4%. In 5,444 master games over the board 36.0% were drawn, White won 34.2% and Black 29.8%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the French Defense: Advance Variation, Euwe Variation
6. a3 scores best for White: 51.0%, with White winning 48.4% and Black 46.5% of 483K games. The most played, 6. Bd3, scores 49.5% in 818K games, and 6. Bb5 scores lowest: 38.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 6. Be2.
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
The French Defense: Advance Variation, Euwe Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.11% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.091%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.091% | 32,371 |
| 2017 | 0.1% | 57,415 |
| 2018 | 0.11% | 84,915 |
| 2019 | 0.098% | 122,420 |
| 2020 | 0.094% | 276,628 |
| 2021 | 0.089% | 347,798 |
| 2022 | 0.091% | 343,073 |
| 2023 | 0.096% | 360,953 |
| 2024 | 0.099% | 353,836 |
| 2025 | 0.11% | 394,252 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.11% | 125,923 |
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
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article French Defence, version of 19 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Advance Variation, Euwe Variation (C02)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-advance-variation-euwe-variation