French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation 6. bxc3 Ne7
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Statistics from Lichess
612,656 games: White 46.4% / Draw 5.5% / Black 48.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 311,045311K | ||
| French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation | 119,898120K | |
| with h4 | 48,39448K | |
| 46,60547K | ||
| French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, Smyslov Variation | 37,58438K | |
| with Bd3 | 25,37425K | |
| 6,0056,005 | ||
| 5,4045,404 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.63 White is slightly better
Best play: 7. Qg4 cxd4 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 Qc7 10. Ne2 dxc3 11. h4 Nbc6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1,052 | |
| 1400–1799 | 30K | |
| 1800–2199 | 333K | |
| 2200 and up | 254K | |
| Masters, over the board | 11K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – So, W.
- Karjakin, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Caruana, F. – 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 C18, 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 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 (6 moves).
In 612,656 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.4%, Black 48.0% and 5.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Qg4, in 51% of those games.
It branches into 8 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation and French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation. In all, 22 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…Ne7
7. h4 (with h4) scores best for White: 54.0%, with White winning 51.1% and Black 43.1% of 48K games. The most played answer, 7. Qg4, scores lowest: 48.0% in 311K games. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Qg4.
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: 0.021% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.029% (its peak: 0.037% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.029% | 10,249 |
| 2017 | 0.035% | 19,077 |
| 2018 | 0.037% | 29,268 |
| 2019 | 0.028% | 35,378 |
| 2020 | 0.03% | 87,283 |
| 2021 | 0.023% | 89,827 |
| 2022 | 0.021% | 80,106 |
| 2023 | 0.022% | 82,730 |
| 2024 | 0.02% | 72,779 |
| 2025 | 0.021% | 72,867 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.021% | 22,623 |
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 (8)
- C18 with Bd3 7. Bd3
- C18 with h4 7. h4
- C18 Winawer Variation, Eingorn Variation 7. Qg4 Kf8
- C18 Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation 7. Qg4 Qc7
- C18 Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation 7. Qg4 cxd4 8. Qxg7
- C19 Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3
- C19 Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 7. Nf3
- C18 Winawer Variation, Warsaw Variation 7. Qg4 O-O
Transpositions
All 22 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- 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 (C18)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-advance-variation-5