French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation 4…c5 5. a3
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Statistics from Lichess
1,467,813 games: White 48.6% / Draw 5.2% / Black 46.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,043,8041M | ||
| 265,061265K | ||
| French Defense: Winawer Variation, Retreat Variation | 150,629151K | |
| 7,0407,040 | ||
| 676676 | ||
| 448448 | ||
| 9393 | ||
| 1515 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.56 White is slightly better
Best play: 5... Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Nf5 8. Bd3 h5 9. Qf4 Qh4 10. Qxh4
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 54% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 58% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7,987 | |
| 1400–1799 | 158K | |
| 1800–2199 | 915K | |
| 2200 and up | 425K | |
| Masters, over the board | 15K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – So, W.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – So, W.
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: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation (ECO C17, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 (5 moves).
In 1,467,813 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.6%, Black 46.3% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bxc3+, in 71% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Winawer Variation, Maróczy-Wallis Variation and French Defense: Winawer Variation, Retreat Variation. In all, 32 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 5. a3
5…Ba5 (French Defense: Winawer Variation, Retreat Variation) scores best for Black: 49.4%, with Black winning 46.9% and White 48.1% of 151K games. The most played, 5…Bxc3+, scores 49.3% in 1M games, and 5…cxd4 scores lowest: 47.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…Bxc3+.
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
This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.051% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.068% (its peak: 0.09% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.068% | 24,334 |
| 2017 | 0.083% | 45,734 |
| 2018 | 0.09% | 70,676 |
| 2019 | 0.073% | 91,071 |
| 2020 | 0.071% | 207,874 |
| 2021 | 0.054% | 211,393 |
| 2022 | 0.05% | 188,079 |
| 2023 | 0.052% | 196,122 |
| 2024 | 0.049% | 176,082 |
| 2025 | 0.051% | 177,853 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.049% | 53,710 |
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)
All 32 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C18 Advance Variation 6 moves
- C17 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Maróczy-Wallis Variation 6 moves
- C17 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Retreat Variation 5 moves
- C17 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation 7 moves
- C18 Advance Variation 6 moves
- C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Classical Variation 6 moves
- C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Portisch-Hook Variation 6 moves
- C19 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 7 moves
- C19 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 8 moves
- C17 Armenian Line 6 moves
- C18 with Bd3 7 moves
- C18 with h4 7 moves
- C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Eingorn Variation 7 moves
- C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation 7 moves
- C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation 8 moves
- C19 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 8 moves
- C19 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 7 moves
- C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Warsaw Variation 7 moves
- C18 with Bd3 7 moves
- C18 with h4 7 moves
- C18 Poisoned Pawn Variation 9 moves
- C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation Declined 8 moves
- C18 Main Line 10 moves
- C18 Paoli Variation 10 moves
- C19 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 8 moves
- C19 Positional Variation 9 moves
- C19 Positional Variation 9 moves
- C19 Positional Variation 7 moves
- C19 Positional Variation 9 moves
- C19 Positional Variation 9 moves
- C19 Positional Variation 9 moves
- C19 Positional Variation 8 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation (C17)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-advance-variation-3