French Defense: Queen's Knight
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Statistics from Lichess
8,677,197 games: White 47.6% / Draw 4.8% / Black 47.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 5,641,9225.6M | ||
| Sicilian Defense: Closed | 654,101654K | |
| 518,368518K | ||
| 462,440462K | ||
| 342,240342K | ||
| 182,666183K | ||
| 159,355159K | ||
| 141,080141K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.38 White is slightly better
Best play: 2... d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3
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 50% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 4.5M | |
| 1400–1799 | 6.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 4.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 533K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,108 |
Master games
- Nakamura, H. – Harikrishna, P.
- Nakamura, H. – Duda, J.
- Motylev, A. – Morozevich, A.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Volkov, S.
- Dubov, D. – Tregubov, P.
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: Queen's Knight (ECO C00, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 (2 moves).
In 8,677,197 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.6%, Black 47.5% and 4.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…d5, in 65% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Pelikan Variation and French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Duras Variation.
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: Queen's Knight
The most played answer, 2…d5, also scores best for Black: 51.2%, with Black winning 48.6% and White 46.2% of 5.6M games. Of the main answers, 2…c6 scores lowest: 48.2%. 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: Queen's Knight has gained ground since 2016: 0.37% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.31%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.31% | 108,957 |
| 2017 | 0.3% | 164,081 |
| 2018 | 0.31% | 239,819 |
| 2019 | 0.31% | 382,700 |
| 2020 | 0.3% | 877,423 |
| 2021 | 0.32% | 1,234,311 |
| 2022 | 0.33% | 1,231,647 |
| 2023 | 0.34% | 1,296,421 |
| 2024 | 0.35% | 1,271,827 |
| 2025 | 0.37% | 1,300,666 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.38% | 420,480 |
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 (2)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Queen's Knight (C00)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-queens-knight