French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
178,484 games: White 45.1% / Draw 5.5% / Black 49.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 128,075128K | ||
| French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation Declined | 21,34221K | |
| 15,85816K | ||
| 4,3314,331 | ||
| 3,1723,172 | ||
| 2,7212,721 | ||
| 651651 | ||
| 424424 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 3, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.71 White is better
Best play: 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Ne2 dxc3 11. h4 Nbc6 12. f4 Bd7
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 | 196 | |
| 1400–1799 | 6,779 | |
| 1800–2199 | 101K | |
| 2200 and up | 71K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,414 |
Master games
- Anand, V. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Rapport, R.
- Aronian, L. – Duda, J.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Radjabov, T.
- Karjakin, S. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
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, Poisoned Pawn Variation (ECO C18, 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 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7 (7 moves).
In 178,484 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.1%, Black 49.4% and 5.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. Qxg7, in 72% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation, Main Line and French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation Declined.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation
8. Bd3 (French Defense: Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation Declined) scores best for White: 53.2%, with White winning 50.4% and Black 44.1% of 21K games. The most played answer, 8. Qxg7, scores lowest: 47.8% in 128K games. Stockfish's first choice is 8. Qxg7.
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, Poisoned Pawn Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.006% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.0079% (its peak: 0.01% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0079% | 2,806 |
| 2017 | 0.0097% | 5,344 |
| 2018 | 0.01% | 8,016 |
| 2019 | 0.0081% | 10,118 |
| 2020 | 0.0083% | 24,446 |
| 2021 | 0.0069% | 27,087 |
| 2022 | 0.0064% | 23,925 |
| 2023 | 0.0067% | 25,169 |
| 2024 | 0.0059% | 21,250 |
| 2025 | 0.006% | 20,964 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0058% | 6,307 |
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, Poisoned Pawn Variation (C18)”. Lichess data as of 3 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-poisoned-pawn-variation