Caissa Codex
C15

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Exchange Variation, Canal Attack

Chess diagram: French Defense: Winawer Variation, Exchange Variation, Canal Attack after 6. Qh5

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.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

6,525 games: White 53.8% / Draw 6.6% / Black 39.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2,2752,275
1,1341,134
751751
437437
386386
372372
370370
308308

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.19 The position is about equal

Best play: 6... Be6 7. Ne2 Qd7 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Nbc6 10. O-O O-O-O 11. Nf4

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

Overview

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Exchange Variation, Canal Attack (ECO C15, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Delayed Exchange Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bd3 Ne7 6. Qh5 (6 moves).

In 6,525 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.8%, Black 39.5% and 6.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…Nbc6, in 35% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

How to play against the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Exchange Variation, Canal Attack

The most played answer, 6…Nbc6, also scores best for Black: 46.4%, with Black winning 42.7% and White 49.9% of 2,275 games. Of the main answers, 6…Bxc3+ scores lowest: 33.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…Be6.

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Exchange Variation, Canal Attack (C15)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-exchange-variation-canal-attack

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-exchange-variation-canal-attack