Caissa Codex
C00

French Defense: Knight Variation, Franco-Hiva Gambit

Chess diagram: French Defense: Knight Variation, Franco-Hiva Gambit after 2…f5

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

94,124 games: White 50.6% / Draw 4.0% / Black 45.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
63,19763K
13,65514K
7,7687,768
3,6923,692
2,1642,164
1,9631,963
658658
365365

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+1.83 White is clearly better

Even so, Black scores 47.4% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.

Best play: 3. exf5 exf5 4. d4 Be7 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O d6 7. c4 O-O

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

French Defense: Knight Variation, Franco-Hiva Gambit (ECO C00, Open Games) is a gambit in the French Defense: Knight Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 f5 (2 moves).

In 94,124 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.6%, Black 45.4% and 4.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. exf5, in 67% of those games.

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How to play against the French Defense: Knight Variation, Franco-Hiva Gambit

3. Nc3 scores best for White: 53.5%, with White winning 51.5% and Black 44.4% of 7,768 games. The most played, 3. exf5, scores 53.1% in 63K games, and 3. e5 scores lowest: 51.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. exf5.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2…f5, the position after French Defense: Knight Variation also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Knight Variation, Franco-Hiva Gambit (C00)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-knight-variation-franco-hiva-gambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-knight-variation-franco-hiva-gambit