French Defense: Knight Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
42,228,327 games: White 46.8% / Draw 4.9% / Black 48.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 27,662,57727.7M | ||
| Sicilian Defense: French Variation | 3,641,7063.6M | |
| 2,464,3452.5M | ||
| 2,170,1592.2M | ||
| 1,834,1801.8M | ||
| 728,624729K | ||
| 674,526675K | ||
| Nimzowitsch Defense: Franco-Nimzowitsch Variation | 640,669641K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 20, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.14 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Bd6 7. dxc5
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 51% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 50% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 22.9M | |
| 1400–1799 | 38.8M | |
| 1800–2199 | 20.8M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.2M | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,609 |
Master games
- Ivanchuk, V. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Carlsen, M. – Sadorra, J.
- Sindarov, J. – Sevian, S.
- Christiansen, J. – Vitiugov, N.
- Zvjaginsev, V. – Rodshtein, M.
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: Knight Variation (ECO C00, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 (2 moves).
In 42,228,327 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.8%, Black 48.3% and 4.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…d5, in 66% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Two Knights Variation and French Defense: Wing Gambit.
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: Knight Variation
The most played answer, 2…d5, also scores best for Black: 51.9%, with Black winning 49.3% and White 45.5% of 27.7M games. Of the main answers, 2…c6 scores lowest: 48.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2…d5.
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: Knight Variation holds steady at about 1.6% of Lichess games a year since 2016.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.7% | 613,021 |
| 2017 | 1.7% | 931,201 |
| 2018 | 1.6% | 1,272,404 |
| 2019 | 1.6% | 2,049,576 |
| 2020 | 1.7% | 4,901,794 |
| 2021 | 1.7% | 6,498,705 |
| 2022 | 1.6% | 6,095,558 |
| 2023 | 1.6% | 6,118,300 |
| 2024 | 1.6% | 5,771,620 |
| 2025 | 1.6% | 5,569,070 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 1.6% | 1,719,263 |
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 (3)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Knight Variation (C00)”. Lichess data as of 20 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-knight-variation