French Defense: St. George Defense, Three Pawn Attack
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Statistics from Lichess
250,740 games: White 53.6% / Draw 4.0% / Black 42.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 37,07837K | ||
| 34,15734K | ||
| 33,02433K | ||
| French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit | 32,60633K | |
| 28,75929K | ||
| 25,71626K | ||
| 17,32217K | ||
| 15,36815K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.17 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Nf3 Bb4 7. c5 O-O 8. Bd3
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 53% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 65K | |
| 1400–1799 | 222K | |
| 1800–2199 | 116K | |
| 2200 and up | 9,202 | |
| Masters, over the board | 49 |
Master games
- Meier, G. – Bauer, C.
- Georgiev, K. – Bauer, C.
- Volkov, S. – Pelletier, Y.
- Polak, T. – Bauer, C.
- Sargissian, G. – Maksimovic, B.
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: St. George Defense, Three Pawn Attack (ECO C00, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: St. George Defense, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 a6 3. c4 (3 moves).
In 250,740 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.6%, Black 42.4% and 4.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…h6, in 15% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit. In all, 2 named lines continue from it.
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: St. George Defense, Three Pawn Attack
3…d5 scores best for Black: 49.4%, with Black winning 46.9% and White 48.0% of 26K games. The most played answer, 3…h6, scores lowest: 41.7% in 37K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…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: St. George Defense, Three Pawn Attack has lost ground since 2016: 0.0098% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.015%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.015% | 5,270 |
| 2017 | 0.014% | 7,947 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,046 |
| 2019 | 0.011% | 13,951 |
| 2020 | 0.0088% | 25,751 |
| 2021 | 0.0086% | 33,616 |
| 2022 | 0.0088% | 33,143 |
| 2023 | 0.0099% | 37,138 |
| 2024 | 0.0099% | 35,522 |
| 2025 | 0.0098% | 34,007 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0094% | 10,268 |
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 (1)
All 2 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: St. George Defense, Three Pawn Attack (C00)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-st-george-defense-three-pawn-attack