French Defense: Winawer Variation, Maróczy-Wallis Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
219,615 games: White 50.7% / Draw 4.8% / Black 44.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 151,688152K | ||
| 37,57638K | ||
| French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation | 18,70719K | |
| 3,6923,692 | ||
| 3,1213,121 | ||
| 1,8921,892 | ||
| 1,0401,040 | ||
| 773773 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.25 White is better
Best play: 7. Qg4 cxb2 8. Bxb2 Qe7 9. Bd3 f5 10. Qf4 Nc6 11. Ra4 b5
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 | 881 | |
| 1400–1799 | 34K | |
| 1800–2199 | 172K | |
| 2200 and up | 19K | |
| Masters, over the board | 97 |
Master games
- Neumann, J. – Wiacek, K.
- Davletov, J. A. – Wiacek, K.
- Nunn, J. D. – Eingorn, V. S.
- Landa, K. – Korobov, A.
- Aseev, K. N. – Ivanov, S.
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, Maróczy-Wallis 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. a3 cxd4 6. axb4 dxc3 (6 moves).
In 219,615 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.7%, Black 44.5% and 4.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. bxc3, in 69% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation.
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, Maróczy-Wallis Variation
7. Qg4 scores best for White: 60.4%, with White winning 58.4% and Black 37.7% of 38K games. The most played answer, 7. bxc3, scores lowest: 50.3% in 152K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 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
The French Defense: Winawer Variation, Maróczy-Wallis Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.0072% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.011% (its peak: 0.015% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.011% | 3,926 |
| 2017 | 0.014% | 7,945 |
| 2018 | 0.015% | 11,478 |
| 2019 | 0.012% | 15,057 |
| 2020 | 0.01% | 30,359 |
| 2021 | 0.0081% | 31,688 |
| 2022 | 0.0076% | 28,617 |
| 2023 | 0.0075% | 28,026 |
| 2024 | 0.0073% | 26,129 |
| 2025 | 0.0072% | 24,868 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.007% | 7,631 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Maróczy-Wallis Variation (C17)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-maroczy-wallis-variation