Caissa Codex
C19

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3

Chess diagram: French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation after 8. Nf3

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

20,202 games: White 54.4% / Draw 5.6% / Black 40.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
9,7529,752
2,9492,949
2,3062,306
1,0231,023
924924
717717
667667
463463

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

Engine evaluation

+0.27 The position is about equal

Best play: 8... Qa5 9. Qd2 b6 10. Bb5 Ba6 11. Rb1 Bxb5 12. axb5 Nd8 13. O-O

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, Advance Variation, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3 (8 moves).

In 20,202 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.4%, Black 40.0% and 5.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…Qa5, in 48% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations. In all, 5 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 8. Nf3

The most played answer, 8…Qa5, also scores best for Black: 45.1%, with Black winning 41.9% and White 51.7% of 9,752 games. Of the main answers, 8…O-O scores lowest: 39.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 8…Qa5.

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

Variations (2)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3, the position after French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

All 5 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation (C19)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-positional-variation-6

https://chesscodex.org/openings/french-defense-winawer-variation-positional-variation-6