C01

French Defense: Exchange Variation, Monte Carlo Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

3,778,672 games: White 48.7% / Draw 5.6% / Black 45.7%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	1,808,9431.8M
	740,187740K
	627,444627K
	204,242204K
	117,751118K
	86,00786K
	84,91185K
	35,86836K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.02 The position is about equal

Best play: 4... Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. c5 Bxc5 7. dxc5 d4 8. Qe2+ Be6 9. Ne4

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, 51% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	272K
1400–1799	1.5M
1800–2199	2.5M
2200 and up	242K
Masters, over the board	1,367

Master games

Safarli, E. – Vitiugov, N. 1–0, 2013
Rakhmanov, A. – Bacrot, E. ½–½, 2017
Rakhmanov, A. – Cheparinov, I. ½–½, 2017
Morozevich, A. – Rakhmanov, A. 0–1, 2016
Mamedov, R. – Sargissian, G. 1–0, 2010

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

Overview

French Defense: Exchange Variation, Monte Carlo Variation (ECO C01, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Exchange Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. c4 (4 moves).

In 3,778,672 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.7%, Black 45.7% and 5.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nf6, in 48% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the French Defense: Exchange Variation, Monte Carlo Variation

4…Bb4+ scores best for Black: 50.9%, with Black winning 47.9% and White 46.0% of 204K games. The most played, 4…Nf6, scores 50.1% in 1.8M games, and 4…dxc4 scores lowest: 44.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nf6.

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: Exchange Variation, Monte Carlo Variation peaked in 2017 at 0.18% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.14% in 2025.

0.16%0.14%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.16%	56,519
2017	0.18%	100,196
2018	0.18%	141,930
2019	0.17%	209,197
2020	0.15%	442,728
2021	0.14%	537,438
2022	0.14%	514,444
2023	0.14%	539,335
2024	0.14%	514,954
2025	0.14%	502,202
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.14%	155,763

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Exchange Variation, Monte Carlo Variation (C01)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-exchange-variation-monte-carlo-variation