Chess Codex
Tree path 10 levels French Defense › Normal Variation › French Defense › Advance Variation › French Defense: Advance Variation › French Defense: Advance Variation › French Defense: Advance Variation › Paulsen Attack › French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit › Hector Variation
  1. Chess Codex
  2. French Defense C00
  3. Normal Variation C00
  4. French Defense C00
  5. Advance Variation C02
  6. French Defense: Advance Variation C02
  7. French Defense: Advance Variation C02
  8. French Defense: Advance Variation C02
  9. Paulsen Attack C02
  10. French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit C02
  11. Hector Variation C02 you are here
C02

French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Hector Variation

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Overview

French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Hector Variation belongs to the gambit family of chess openings (ECO C02, Open Games). It trades material for attacking chances — a classic trade-off that has fascinated players from the Romantic era to modern correspondence chess.

The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.

Play reaches this position via 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. O-O, after 13 plies of opening development.

The line refines French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, which traces back to the root opening French Defense.

It continues primarily into one named line, French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Hector Variation.

Explore the position on the interactive board, study its real-world results from Lichess, and challenge the engine when you are ready.

ECO code
C02
Group
Open Games (C)
Plies
13
Parent
French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit
Direct variations
1

This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Statistics from Lichess

118,941 games · White 52.9% / Draw 4.5% / Black 42.6%

MovesGamesW / D / B
Bd767,757
dxc342,348
Nge74,822
Nh61,584
Bc5825
f6679
a6202
h6142

Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:48:00

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Variations (1)

Related variations at the same level

Sister lines that share the same parent French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit:

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-advance-variation-milner-barry-gambit-hector-variation