French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
200,640 games: White 48.2% / Draw 5.3% / Black 46.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 131,693132K | ||
| 39,02639K | ||
| 17,50918K | ||
| 5,2605,260 | ||
| 2,6762,676 | ||
| 1,3061,306 | ||
| 728728 | ||
| 593593 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 7. Bd3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Nf5 9. Bxf5 exf5 10. Nc3 Be6 11. O-O h6
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, 50% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7,932 | |
| 1400–1799 | 57K | |
| 1800–2199 | 116K | |
| 2200 and up | 44K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,488 |
Master games
- Grischuk, A. – Caruana, F.
- Firouzja, A. – Nakamura, H.
- Aronian, L. – So, W.
- Shirov, A. – Nakamura, H.
- Caruana, F. – Vallejo Pons, 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 27, 2026
Overview
French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian Variation (ECO C02, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Advance Variation, Main Line, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 Nh6 (6 moves).
In 200,640 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.2%, Black 46.5% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. b4, in 66% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian Variation
The most played answer, 7. b4, also scores best for White: 53.0%, with White winning 50.3% and Black 44.3% of 132K games. Of the main answers, 7. Bxh6 scores lowest: 39.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Bd3.
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, Lputian Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.01% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0076% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.008% | 2,852 |
| 2017 | 0.0092% | 5,056 |
| 2018 | 0.01% | 8,246 |
| 2019 | 0.0091% | 11,325 |
| 2020 | 0.0092% | 27,043 |
| 2021 | 0.0073% | 28,448 |
| 2022 | 0.0067% | 25,333 |
| 2023 | 0.0074% | 27,653 |
| 2024 | 0.0075% | 26,986 |
| 2025 | 0.0076% | 26,278 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0076% | 8,329 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian Variation (C02)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-advance-variation-lputian-variation