French Defense: Franco-Sicilian Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
6,976,990 games: White 50.4% / Draw 4.1% / Black 45.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,262,7252.3M | ||
| 1,881,2901.9M | ||
| 1,607,8211.6M | ||
| 665,134665K | ||
| 155,069155K | ||
| 110,841111K | ||
| 109,316109K | ||
| 37,03737K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.70 White is better
Best play: 3. d5 Nf6 4. Nc3 d6 5. dxe6 Bxe6 6. Nge2 Nc6 7. Nf4 g6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 50% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 3.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 265K | |
| Masters, over the board | 975 |
Master games
- Alekseenko, K. – Salgado Lopez, I.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Kengis, E.
- Sokolov, I. – Andersson, U.
- Shomoev, A. – Zvjaginsev, V.
- Parma, B. – Larsen, B.
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: Franco-Sicilian Defense (ECO C00, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5 (2 moves).
In 6,976,990 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.4%, Black 45.6% and 4.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. d5, in 32% of those games.
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: Franco-Sicilian Defense
The most played answer, 3. d5, also scores best for White: 54.3%, with White winning 52.2% and Black 43.6% of 2.3M games. Of the main answers, 3. dxc5 scores lowest: 47.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. d5.
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
Popularity by year
The French Defense: Franco-Sicilian Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.26% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.34%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.34% | 120,963 |
| 2017 | 0.32% | 178,190 |
| 2018 | 0.29% | 231,667 |
| 2019 | 0.28% | 351,940 |
| 2020 | 0.27% | 784,668 |
| 2021 | 0.27% | 1,051,703 |
| 2022 | 0.27% | 1,014,218 |
| 2023 | 0.27% | 1,002,082 |
| 2024 | 0.26% | 941,780 |
| 2025 | 0.26% | 903,454 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.25% | 274,362 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Franco-Sicilian Defense (C00)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-franco-sicilian-defense