Caissa Codex
C19

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 7. Nf3 Qc7

Chess diagram: French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation after 7…Qc7

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.

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Statistics from Lichess

44,845 games: White 49.6% / Draw 5.6% / Black 44.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
17,27217K
9,5629,562
4,9464,946
3,5743,574
2,7772,777
2,7312,731
1,0701,070
594594

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.46 White is slightly better

Best play: 8. a4 h6 9. h4 b6 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. O-O Bxb5 12. axb5 cxd4

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

Overview

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation (ECO C19, Open Games) is a variation of the French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Nf3 Qc7 (7 moves).

In 44,845 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.6%, Black 44.8% and 5.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. Bd3, in 39% of those games.

It continues into one named variation.

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How to answer 7…Qc7

8. a4 scores best for White: 56.7%, with White winning 53.8% and Black 40.5% of 9,562 games. The most played, 8. Bd3, scores 53.2% in 17K games, and 8. Bb5+ scores lowest: 45.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 8. a4.

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

Variations (1)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation (C19)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-positional-variation-3

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-positional-variation-3