Caissa Codex
C17

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, Moscow Variation

Chess diagram: French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, Moscow Variation after 5. Qg4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

80,033 games: White 51.5% / Draw 4.1% / Black 44.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
44,84445K
16,37216K
9,9969,996
4,3814,381
3,7113,711
241241
149149
144144

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026

Engine evaluation

0.00 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... Ne7 6. dxc5 Nbc6 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Bd3 f5 9. exf6 Rxf6 10. Bg5

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

Overview

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, Moscow 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. Qg4 (5 moves).

In 80,033 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.5%, Black 44.3% and 4.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Ne7, in 56% of those games.

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How to play against the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, Moscow Variation

The most played answer, 5…Ne7, also scores best for Black: 49.8%, with Black winning 47.6% and White 48.0% of 45K games. Of the main answers, 5…cxd4 scores lowest: 34.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Ne7.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5. Qg4, the position after French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation, Moscow Variation (C17)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-advance-variation-moscow-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-advance-variation-moscow-variation