French Defense: Advance Variation, Main Line
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Statistics from Lichess
1,701,289 games: White 50.2% / Draw 5.0% / Black 44.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 388,933389K | ||
| 350,442350K | ||
| 271,294271K | ||
| 216,191216K | ||
| 204,207204K | ||
| French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian Variation | 199,018199K | |
| 46,96247K | ||
| 8,2408,240 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.17 The position is about equal
Best play: 6... Nh6 7. Bd3 cxd4 8. O-O Bd7 9. b4 Rc8 10. Ra2 Nf5 11. Rc2
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 better this line does for White: White scores 49% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 55% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 54K | |
| 1400–1799 | 500K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.1M | |
| 2200 and up | 245K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,410 |
Master games
- Grischuk, A. – Caruana, F.
- Caruana, F. – Wei, Y.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Caruana, F.
- Firouzja, A. – Nakamura, H.
- Caruana, F. – Praggnanandhaa, R.
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, Main Line (ECO C02, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Advance Variation, Paulsen Attack, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 (6 moves).
In 1,701,289 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.2%, Black 44.8% and 5.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…cxd4, in 23% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, French Defense: Advance Variation, Lputian Variation.
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, Main Line
6…c4 scores best for Black: 50.7%, with Black winning 47.9% and White 46.5% of 271K games. The most played answer, 6…cxd4, scores lowest: 44.4% in 389K games. Stockfish's first choice is 6…Nh6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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, Main Line peaked in 2018 at 0.079% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.068% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.061% | 21,743 |
| 2017 | 0.071% | 38,812 |
| 2018 | 0.079% | 62,398 |
| 2019 | 0.071% | 89,153 |
| 2020 | 0.069% | 202,280 |
| 2021 | 0.059% | 230,734 |
| 2022 | 0.061% | 229,158 |
| 2023 | 0.066% | 247,159 |
| 2024 | 0.067% | 241,676 |
| 2025 | 0.068% | 234,799 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.068% | 74,304 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Advance Variation, Main Line (C02)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-advance-variation-main-line