Caissa Codex
C11

French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Brodsky-Jones Variation

Chess diagram: French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Brodsky-Jones Variation after 9…f6

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Statistics from Lichess

32 games: White 50.0% / Draw 3.1% / Black 46.9%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2424
66
11
11

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

Engine evaluation

+0.59 White is slightly better

Best play: 10. Qxe6+ Kh8 11. Qxd5 Qb6 12. Qc4 Bf2+ 13. Ke2 a6 14. e6 Nc5

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

Overview

French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Brodsky-Jones Variation (ECO C11, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Steinitz Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. dxc5 Nc6 7. a3 Bxc5 8. Qg4 O-O 9. Nf3 f6 (9 moves).

In 32 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.0%, Black 46.9% and 3.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 10. Qxe6+, in 75% of those games. That is too few games for the percentages to mean much.

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Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Brodsky-Jones Variation (C11)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-steinitz-variation-brodsky-jones-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-steinitz-variation-brodsky-jones-variation