French Defense: Mediterranean Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
1,394,050 games: White 52.1% / Draw 3.9% / Black 44.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 581,887582K | ||
| 425,330425K | ||
| 201,672202K | ||
| Trompowsky Attack: Classical Defense, Big Center Variation | 80,14880K | |
| 47,14047K | ||
| 23,51324K | ||
| 13,37213K | ||
| 5,2365,236 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.25 White is better
Best play: 3. e5 Ng8 4. Nf3 d5 5. c3 c5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O a6
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 46% under 1400, 43% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 684K | |
| 2200 and up | 36K | |
| Masters, over the board | 20 |
Master games
- Smagin, S. – Fridman, D.
- Volkov, S. – Perunovic, M.
- Tishin, P. – Arbakov, V.
- Karthik, V. – Saravanan, V.
- Kireev, S. – Edighoffer, H.
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: Mediterranean Defense (ECO C00, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 Nf6 (2 moves).
In 1,394,050 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.1%, Black 44.0% and 3.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. e5, in 42% 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: Mediterranean Defense
3. Bd3 scores best for White: 55.1%, with White winning 53.3% and Black 43.0% of 202K games. The most played, 3. e5, scores 54.7% in 582K games, and 3. Bg5 scores lowest: 51.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. 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: Mediterranean Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.05% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.079%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.079% | 28,214 |
| 2017 | 0.064% | 35,214 |
| 2018 | 0.055% | 43,309 |
| 2019 | 0.056% | 69,383 |
| 2020 | 0.055% | 161,617 |
| 2021 | 0.055% | 213,824 |
| 2022 | 0.054% | 202,548 |
| 2023 | 0.054% | 201,194 |
| 2024 | 0.053% | 189,029 |
| 2025 | 0.05% | 173,451 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.048% | 53,168 |
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: Mediterranean Defense (C00)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-mediterranean-defense