Open games & French

French Defense

1.e4 e6

The French Defense starts with 1.e4 e6 and is catalogued under ECO C00, in the open games & french half of the book. The catalog indexes 212 lines inside it, grouped into 170 named variations, and the position after those moves has 12 playable continuations to walk from here.

Opening repertoire map

Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.

Current position
French Defense
Popularity by Elo
Share of Lichess blitz, rapid, and classical games that continued with each move.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h

Current setup

Move ideas

  1. 1.e4

    Claims the center with a pawn and opens lines for the queen and king’s bishop.

    Idea: Build quick development and make early castling possible.

  2. 1…e6

    Prepares ...d5 to challenge White’s center with a supported pawn.

    Idea: Build a compact pawn chain, then attack its base with ...c5.

Book continuations

Waiting for Lichess game popularity.

12 moves
d4French Defense: Normal Variation149 named lines · French Defense · Benoni Defense: French BenoniAdvances to d4 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.d3French Defense: King's Indian Attack4 named lines · King's Indian Attack: Sicilian Variation · French Defense: Reversed Philidor FormationAdvances to d3 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.Nf3French Defense: Knight Variation4 named lines · French Defense: Wing Gambit · French Defense: Two Knights VariationDevelops the knight to f3, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.Nc3French Defense: Queen's Knight3 named lines · French Defense: Pelikan Variation · French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Duras VariationDevelops the knight to c3, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.b3French Defense: Horwitz Attack2 named lines · French Defense: Horwitz Attack, Papa-Ticulat GambitAdvances the b-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.b4French Defense: Banzai-Leong Gambit2 named lines · French Defense: Banzai-Leong Gambit, Pinova GambitAdvances the b-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Prepare a fianchetto or discourage the opponent’s expansion on that wing.c4French Defense: Steiner Variation2 named lines · French Defense: Orthoschnapp GambitAdvances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.f4French Defense: La Bourdonnais Variation2 named lines · French Defense: La Bourdonnais Variation, Reuter GambitAdvances the f-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.Bb5French Defense: Bird Invitation1 named lineDevelops the bishop to b5, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.e5French Defense: Steinitz Attack1 named lineAdvances to e5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.g3French Defense: Réti-Spielmann Attack1 named lineAdvances the g-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.Qe2French Defense: Chigorin Variation1 named lineRepositions the queen to e2, where it influences a new part of the board.Idea: Coordinate threats carefully while avoiding unnecessary tempi against the queen.

Named variations

Each line below is an indexed entry under French Defense. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.

146 more named lines sit inside this family — the tree above walks all of them.

Openings from the same volume

ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the French Defense.