French Defense: Classical Variation, Steinitz Variation
The Steinitz Variation is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5, a line of the Classical Variation of the French Defense named after Wilhelm Steinitz. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
4,120,111 games: White 48.0% / Draw 4.8% / Black 47.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 3,828,4243.8M | ||
| 167,584168K | ||
| 115,756116K | ||
| 2,9342,934 | ||
| 1,6921,692 | ||
| 1,5071,507 | ||
| 797797 | ||
| 454454 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.34 White is slightly better
Best play: 4... Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 9. Qd2
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 52% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 495K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 714K | |
| Masters, over the board | 16K |
Master games
- Karjakin, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Kasparov, G. – Caruana, F.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Morozevich, A.
- Dominguez Perez, L. – Caruana, F.
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 26, 2026
Description
The Steinitz Variation is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5, a line of the Classical Variation of the French Defense named after Wilhelm Steinitz.
The idea
White closes the centre with 4.e5, and the knight retreats with 4...Nfd7. In the main lines Black's play is directed against White's d4-pawn: ...c5 and ...Nc6, and often ...Qb6, step up the pressure on it.
Main lines
After 4...Nfd7:
- 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 is the main line, the Boleslavsky Variation on this site. Black can step up the pressure on d4 with 7...Qb6 or 7...cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qb6, start queenside play with 7...a6 8.Qd2 b5, or continue developing the kingside with 7...Be7 or 7...cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5. White then chooses between Qd2 with O-O-O and Be2 with O-O; the first usually gives sharp play with castling on opposite sides.
- 5.Nce2, the Shirov-Anand Variation, prepares to support the centre with c2-c3 and f2-f4.
- 5.Nf3 gives a position also reached from the Two Knights Variation, 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.d4.
A trap in the main line
After 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 the natural-looking 7.Be2? cxd4 8.Nxd4 Ndxe5! 9.fxe5 Qh4+ wins a pawn for Black.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 48.0% of the 4.1 million games and Black 47.2%. White leads 50.5% against 46.0% under 1400 and 49.5% against 43.9% from 2200 up, while at 1400–1799 Black is ahead, 49.9% against 46.6%. In 16,347 master games over the board White won 34.4%, Black 19.5%, and 46.0% were drawn.
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Popularity by year
The French Defense: Classical Variation, Steinitz Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.2% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.17% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.15% | 53,849 |
| 2017 | 0.18% | 99,138 |
| 2018 | 0.2% | 160,140 |
| 2019 | 0.18% | 227,183 |
| 2020 | 0.17% | 508,054 |
| 2021 | 0.14% | 562,622 |
| 2022 | 0.14% | 520,947 |
| 2023 | 0.15% | 555,795 |
| 2024 | 0.16% | 559,865 |
| 2025 | 0.17% | 603,882 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.18% | 196,343 |
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)
All 7 named lines that continue from here
- C11 French Defense: Classical Variation, Shirov-Anand Variation 5 moves
- C11 French Defense: Steinitz Variation 6 moves
- C11 French Defense: Steinitz Variation 6 moves
- C11 French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Bradford Attack Variation 7 moves
- C11 French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Gledhill Attack 5 moves
- C11 Boleslavsky Variation 7 moves
- C11 Brodsky-Jones Variation 9 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article French Defence, version of 19 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Classical Variation, Steinitz Variation (C11)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-classical-variation-steinitz-variation