French Defense: Hecht-Reefschläger Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
392,535 games: White 50.8% / Draw 4.8% / Black 44.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 116,003116K | ||
| 115,831116K | ||
| 79,45379K | ||
| 42,00942K | ||
| 15,67116K | ||
| 5,1965,196 | ||
| 4,8844,884 | ||
| 4,5424,542 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.71 White is better
Best play: 4. e5 f6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. Nf3 Qe7 7. O-O Qf7 8. Bxc6 Bxc6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 442K | |
| 1400–1799 | 289K | |
| 1800–2199 | 185K | |
| 2200 and up | 81K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,710 |
Master games
- Mamedyarov, S. – Rapport, R.
- Caruana, F. – Jobava, B.
- Karjakin, S. – Andreikin, D.
- Caruana, F. – Andreikin, D.
- Giri, A. – Jobava, 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 27, 2026
Overview
French Defense: Hecht-Reefschläger Variation (ECO C10, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Paulsen Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nc6 (3 moves).
In 392,535 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.8%, Black 44.4% and 4.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Nf3, in 30% 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: Hecht-Reefschläger Variation
The most played answer, 4. Nf3, also scores best for White: 54.7%, with White winning 52.1% and Black 42.7% of 116K games. Of the main answers, 4. exd5 scores lowest: 51.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. e5.
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: Hecht-Reefschläger Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.015% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.019%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.019% | 6,745 |
| 2017 | 0.019% | 10,589 |
| 2018 | 0.019% | 15,214 |
| 2019 | 0.016% | 20,122 |
| 2020 | 0.017% | 49,327 |
| 2021 | 0.015% | 58,183 |
| 2022 | 0.014% | 50,955 |
| 2023 | 0.013% | 49,838 |
| 2024 | 0.014% | 51,498 |
| 2025 | 0.015% | 53,630 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 19,064 |
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: Hecht-Reefschläger Variation (C10)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-hecht-reefschlager-variation