French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Breyer Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
86,564 games: White 55.1% / Draw 4.0% / Black 40.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 33,83334K | ||
| 26,72727K | ||
| 8,9638,963 | ||
| 8,7668,766 | ||
| 3,2433,243 | ||
| 2,0042,004 | ||
| 1,0761,076 | ||
| 672672 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.89 White is better
Best play: 7. Bxe7 Kxe7 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. dxc5 Ncxe5 10. O-O-O Kf8 11. h5 h6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Breyer Variation (ECO C13, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 c5 (6 moves).
In 86,564 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.1%, Black 40.8% and 4.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bxe7, in 39% of those games.
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How to play against the French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Breyer Variation
The most played answer, 7. Bxe7, also scores best for White: 62.3%, with White winning 60.2% and Black 35.5% of 34K games. Of the main answers, 7. Nf3 scores lowest: 48.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. Bxe7.
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Breyer Variation (C13)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-alekhine-chatard-attack-breyer-variation