French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation
The Closed Variation of the Tarrasch Variation is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6, one of Black's two main replies to 3.Nd2 in the French Defense. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
3,424,619 games: White 51.4% / Draw 5.0% / Black 43.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,995,4193M | ||
| 341,897342K | ||
| 54,18454K | ||
| 12,27812K | ||
| 9,9319,931 | ||
| 6,4206,420 | ||
| 990990 | ||
| 817817 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.64 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. c3 Qb6 7. Ndf3 Nc6 8. a3 a5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 47% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 41% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 27K | |
| 1400–1799 | 487K | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 668K | |
| Masters, over the board | 13K |
Master games
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Ponomariov, R.
- Ponomariov, R. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Svidler, P. – Ponomariov, R.
- Caruana, F. – Ponomariov, R.
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
Description
The Closed Variation of the Tarrasch Variation is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6, one of Black's two main replies to 3.Nd2 in the French Defense. While the other, 3...c5, aims to break open the centre, 3...Nf6 aims to close it.
The idea
After 4.e5 Nfd7 Black attacks White's centre with ...c5 and, in the main line, ...f6. Because White's knight is on d2 rather than c3, White can support d4 with c2-c3.
Main lines
- 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 is the main line. The knight goes to e2 to leave f3 for the other knight. After 7...cxd4 8.cxd4 f6 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.Nf3 Bd6 Black has freed the pieces at the cost of a backward pawn on e6.
- On move six Black can also play 6...b6, intending ...Ba6 to trade off the light-squared bishop, a recurring idea in the French.
- White can keep the pawn on e5 with 4.e5 Nfd7 5.c3 c5 6.f4 Nc6 7.Ndf3, but White's development is slowed, and Black gets dynamic chances if the position can be opened to Black's advantage.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 51.4% of the 3.4 million games and Black 43.6%. White leads 51.1% against 45.8% under 1400 and 50.7% against 42.7% from 2200 up. In 13,304 master games over the board White won 41.6%, Black 23.4%, and 35.0% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation
4. Bd3 scores best for White: 54.9%, with White winning 52.2% and Black 42.4% of 342K games. The most played answer, 4. e5, scores lowest: 54.0% in 3M games. Stockfish's first choice is 4. 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: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.12% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.16% (its peak: 0.22% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.16% | 58,420 |
| 2017 | 0.21% | 113,287 |
| 2018 | 0.22% | 172,461 |
| 2019 | 0.19% | 235,294 |
| 2020 | 0.16% | 473,196 |
| 2021 | 0.13% | 491,419 |
| 2022 | 0.12% | 442,107 |
| 2023 | 0.12% | 438,771 |
| 2024 | 0.11% | 409,339 |
| 2025 | 0.12% | 404,528 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.12% | 129,562 |
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 (3)
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article French Defence, version of 19 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation (C05)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-tarrasch-variation-closed-variation