French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack
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Statistics from Lichess
600,939 games: White 53.4% / Draw 4.5% / Black 42.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 169,400169K | ||
| 164,803165K | ||
| Maróczy Variation | 128,019128K | |
| Breyer Variation | 84,28484K | |
| Spielmann Variation | 30,15230K | |
| 9,4559,455 | ||
| Teichmann Variation | 7,2197,219 | |
| 3,3103,310 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.37 White is slightly better
Best play: 6... Bxg5 7. hxg5 Qxg5 8. Nb5 Kd8 9. Nh3 Qh4 10. Qd2 a6 11. Nc3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1,891 | |
| 1400–1799 | 55K | |
| 1800–2199 | 418K | |
| 2200 and up | 136K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,345 |
Master games
- Kasparov, G. – Kortschnoj, V.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Hou Yifan
- Vallejo Pons, F. – Zvjaginsev, V.
- Morozevich, A. – Kortschnoj, V.
- Belov, V. – Morozevich, A.
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: Alekhine-Chatard Attack (ECO C13, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Classical Variation, Normal Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 (6 moves).
In 600,939 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.4%, Black 42.2% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…h6, in 28% of those games.
It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Albin-Chatard Gambit and French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Maróczy 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: Alekhine-Chatard Attack
6…a6 (Maróczy Variation) scores best for Black: 47.9%, with Black winning 45.5% and White 49.7% of 128K games. The most played, 6…h6, scores 46.5% in 169K games, and 6…Bxg5 scores lowest: 39.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…Bxg5.
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: Alekhine-Chatard Attack has lost ground since 2016: 0.02% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.027% (its peak: 0.036% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.027% | 9,658 |
| 2017 | 0.033% | 18,197 |
| 2018 | 0.036% | 27,888 |
| 2019 | 0.032% | 39,785 |
| 2020 | 0.029% | 85,725 |
| 2021 | 0.023% | 88,775 |
| 2022 | 0.021% | 80,716 |
| 2023 | 0.02% | 76,839 |
| 2024 | 0.02% | 70,981 |
| 2025 | 0.02% | 69,876 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.02% | 21,972 |
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 (5)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack (C13)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-alekhine-chatard-attack