French Defense: Winawer Variation, Alekhine-Maróczy Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
296,139 games: White 52.1% / Draw 6.6% / Black 41.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 154,584155K | ||
| 51,66852K | ||
| 37,69238K | ||
| 22,12722K | ||
| 20,09220K | ||
| 3,0833,083 | ||
| 2,5782,578 | ||
| 1,5901,590 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.17 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... dxe4 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Nxc3 Nc6 7. Bb5 Ne7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qd2
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 53% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 19K | |
| 1400–1799 | 53K | |
| 1800–2199 | 149K | |
| 2200 and up | 116K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,412 |
Master games
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Rapport, R.
- Jobava, B. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Bauer, C.
- Timofeev, A. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Moussard, J. – Caruana, F.
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, Alekhine-Maróczy Gambit (ECO C15, Open Games) is a gambit in the French Defense: Winawer Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Ne2 (4 moves).
In 296,139 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.1%, Black 41.3% and 6.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…dxe4, in 52% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Winawer Variation, Alekhine Gambit Accepted and French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Wolf Gambit. In all, 4 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 play against the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Alekhine-Maróczy Gambit
4…Nc6 scores best for Black: 53.3%, with Black winning 50.1% and White 43.6% of 22K games. The most played, 4…dxe4, scores 45.1% in 155K games, and 4…c5 scores lowest: 35.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…dxe4.
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
The French Defense: Winawer Variation, Alekhine-Maróczy Gambit peaked in 2018 at 0.015% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.013% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.012% | 4,121 |
| 2017 | 0.014% | 7,677 |
| 2018 | 0.015% | 11,563 |
| 2019 | 0.013% | 16,074 |
| 2020 | 0.012% | 35,886 |
| 2021 | 0.01% | 40,392 |
| 2022 | 0.01% | 38,516 |
| 2023 | 0.011% | 39,639 |
| 2024 | 0.011% | 38,186 |
| 2025 | 0.013% | 44,358 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.013% | 14,150 |
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 4 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Alekhine-Maróczy Gambit (C15)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-alekhine-maroczy-gambit