C15

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

257,081 games: White 48.2% / Draw 4.6% / Black 47.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	96,93797K
	44,72945K
	39,53640K
	32,95633K
	22,59323K
	9,1309,130
	3,3763,376
	2,4642,464

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.04 The position is about equal

Best play: 4... dxe4 5. Qg4 Nf6 6. Qxg7 Rg8 7. Qh6 Qxd4 8. O-O-O Nbd7 9. f3

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 51% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	173K
1400–1799	202K
1800–2199	138K
2200 and up	24K
Masters, over the board	235

Master games

Ivanchuk, V. – Vaganian, R. A. ½–½, 2007
Timman, J. H. – Huebner, R. ½–½, 1986
Bernadskiy, V. – Short, N. 1–0, 2022
Timman, J. H. – Vaganian, R. A. 1–0, 1986
Timman, J. H. – Huebner, R. ½–½, 1987

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, Fingerslip Variation (ECO C15, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Winawer Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bd2 (4 moves).

In 257,081 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.2%, Black 47.2% and 4.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bxc3, in 38% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation, Main Line and French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation, Kunin Double Gambit.

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Description

How to play against the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation

4…dxe4 scores best for Black: 53.4%, with Black winning 50.8% and White 43.9% of 45K games. The most played, 4…Bxc3, scores 47.7% in 97K games, and 4…c5 scores lowest: 47.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 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, Fingerslip Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.0091% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.014%.

0.014%0.0091%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.014%	5,122
2017	0.014%	7,612
2018	0.014%	11,321
2019	0.013%	15,877
2020	0.011%	32,145
2021	0.01%	39,495
2022	0.0088%	33,135
2023	0.0089%	33,567
2024	0.009%	32,317
2025	0.0091%	31,704
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0094%	10,329

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)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation (C15)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-fingerslip-variation