French Defense: Orthoschnapp Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
352,444 games: White 53.6% / Draw 4.1% / Black 42.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 202,748203K | ||
| 76,50177K | ||
| 44,85645K | ||
| 12,85613K | ||
| 7,1747,174 | ||
| 2,1312,131 | ||
| 1,6111,611 | ||
| 1,0681,068 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 22, 2026
Engine evaluation
−1.02 Black is better
Best play: 4... dxe4 5. Bc4 Qe7 6. Ne2 Nd7 7. O-O Ngf6 8. d4 exd3 9. Nd4
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 White: White scores 57% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 9,391 | |
| 1400–1799 | 106K | |
| 1800–2199 | 243K | |
| 2200 and up | 30K | |
| Masters, over the board | 11 |
Master games
- Pelekhaty, A. – Riazantsev, A.
- Buecker, S. – Foisor, O. D.
- Sperlich, O. – Knaak, R.
- Euler, G. – Klingelhoefer, S.
- Sabirov, T. – Lysyj, I.
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: Orthoschnapp Gambit (ECO C00, Open Games) is a gambit in the French Defense: Steiner Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. c4 d5 3. cxd5 exd5 4. Qb3 (4 moves).
In 352,444 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.6%, Black 42.3% and 4.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…dxe4, in 58% 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: Orthoschnapp Gambit
4…Nf6 scores best for Black: 47.8%, with Black winning 45.6% and White 50.0% of 77K games. The most played answer, 4…dxe4, scores lowest: 42.7% in 203K games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…dxe4.
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: Orthoschnapp Gambit is played more than 11 times as often as in 2016: 0.013% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0012% (its peak: 0.02% in 2021).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0012% | 421 |
| 2017 | 0.0017% | 910 |
| 2018 | 0.0019% | 1,475 |
| 2019 | 0.001% | 1,262 |
| 2020 | 0.0096% | 28,083 |
| 2021 | 0.02% | 78,345 |
| 2022 | 0.019% | 70,725 |
| 2023 | 0.015% | 57,543 |
| 2024 | 0.014% | 50,194 |
| 2025 | 0.013% | 46,438 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.012% | 13,298 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Orthoschnapp Gambit (C00)”. Lichess data as of 22 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-orthoschnapp-gambit