French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation 6. c3 Nc6
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Statistics from Lichess
1,376,395 games: White 52.5% / Draw 5.0% / Black 42.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,083,7161.1M | ||
| 212,931213K | ||
| 65,51166K | ||
| 6,8786,878 | ||
| 4,3324,332 | ||
| 705705 | ||
| 604604 | ||
| 515515 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.34 White is slightly better
Best play: 7. Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4 f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. Nf3 Bd6 11. O-O O-O
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 45% 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 | 2,216 | |
| 1400–1799 | 110K | |
| 1800–2199 | 947K | |
| 2200 and up | 333K | |
| Masters, over the board | 8,619 |
Master games
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Ponomariov, R.
- Svidler, P. – Ponomariov, R.
- Caruana, F. – Ponomariov, R.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – 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 27, 2026
Overview
French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation (ECO C05, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 (6 moves).
In 1,376,395 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.5%, Black 42.5% and 5.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Ne2, in 79% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation, Main Line. 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 answer 6…Nc6
The most played answer, 7. Ne2, also scores best for White: 55.1%, with White winning 52.6% and Black 42.3% of 1.1M games. Of the main answers, 7. Ngf3 scores lowest: 54.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. Ne2.
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
This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.044% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.065% (its peak: 0.091% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.065% | 23,124 |
| 2017 | 0.084% | 46,052 |
| 2018 | 0.091% | 71,297 |
| 2019 | 0.078% | 97,335 |
| 2020 | 0.07% | 204,160 |
| 2021 | 0.051% | 201,293 |
| 2022 | 0.048% | 179,357 |
| 2023 | 0.046% | 173,370 |
| 2024 | 0.044% | 158,930 |
| 2025 | 0.044% | 153,099 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.044% | 47,919 |
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: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation (C05)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-tarrasch-variation-closed-variation-2