Current position
French Defense: Steinitz Variation
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 1 playable continuation to walk from here.
Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.
Current setup
Move ideas
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.
Prepares ...d5 to challenge White’s center with a supported pawn.
Idea: Build a compact pawn chain, then attack its base with ...c5.
Advances to d4 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Advances to d5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Develops the knight to c3, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Develops the knight to f6, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Advances to e5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Repositions the knight to d7, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.
Advances the f-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Advances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Captures the pawn on c5 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.
Idea: Open lines in the queenside and reshape the center for the next phase.
Develops the knight to c6, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Advances the a-pawn to gain queenside edge space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Captures the pawn on c5 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.
Idea: Remove an active defender and improve the moving piece’s influence.
Repositions the queen to g4, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Coordinate threats carefully while avoiding unnecessary tempi against the queen.
Waiting for Lichess game popularity.
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.
ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the French Defense.