French Defense: Classical Variation, Richter Attack
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Statistics from Lichess
249,687 games: White 48.9% / Draw 4.8% / Black 46.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 240,106240K | ||
| 9,4669,466 | ||
| 6060 | ||
| 1717 | ||
| 99 | ||
| 66 | ||
| 66 | ||
| 44 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.10 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... Bxf6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qd2 c5 8. dxc5 Nd7 9. exd5 Nxc5 10. O-O-O
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 50% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 16K | |
| 1400–1799 | 68K | |
| 1800–2199 | 169K | |
| 2200 and up | 36K | |
| Masters, over the board | 97 |
Master games
- Kurajica, B. – Popovic, P.
- Ljubojevic, L. – Messing, H.
- Starostits, I. – Gleizerov, E.
- Potapov, P. – Vykouk, J.
- Saptarshi, R. C. – Ismagambetov, 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: Classical Variation, Richter 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. Bxf6 (5 moves).
In 249,687 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.9%, Black 46.2% and 4.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bxf6, in 96% of those games.
It continues into one named variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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Popularity by year
The French Defense: Classical Variation, Richter Attack peaked in 2018 at 0.013% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0091% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.01% | 3,679 |
| 2017 | 0.012% | 6,514 |
| 2018 | 0.013% | 10,321 |
| 2019 | 0.011% | 14,035 |
| 2020 | 0.011% | 32,400 |
| 2021 | 0.0094% | 36,596 |
| 2022 | 0.009% | 33,667 |
| 2023 | 0.0091% | 34,132 |
| 2024 | 0.0091% | 32,460 |
| 2025 | 0.0091% | 31,700 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0091% | 9,943 |
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: Classical Variation, Richter Attack (C13)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-classical-variation-richter-attack