French Defense: Advance Variation (3… c5 4. c3)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3
The French Defense: Advance Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C02, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3. It is a line of the French Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 51,466 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nc6 (70% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.27 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 c4 7. Nbd2)
- ECO
- C02
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/4p3/2ppP3/3P4/2P5/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 10,245 | |
| 1500-1999 | 30,328 | |
| 2000+ | 10,893 | |
| All | 51,466 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nc6 Advance Variation (4. c3 Nc6) | 35,904 (70%) | |
| 4… Qb6 | 6,628 (13%) | |
| 4… cxd4 | 4,473 (9%) | |
| 4… Bd7 | 1,333 (3%) | |
| 4… c4 | 988 (2%) | |
| 4… Ne7 | 584 (1%) | |
| 4… a6 | 549 (1%) | |
| 4… Qa5 | 359 (1%) |
Master games
4,453 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 18%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- KomodoDragon 2894.00 (3600) – Stockfish dev15_20220401 (3617) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-04-13
- Stockfish dev15_20220401 (3617) – KomodoDragon 2894.00 (3600) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-04-13
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Pentala Harikrishna (2732) 1-0 · Saint Louis Blitz 2020 · 2020-09-19
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2842) – GM Yi Wei (2732) 1-0 · PRO League KO Stage 2020 · 2020-09-25
- GM Anish Giri (2776) – GM So, W. (2770) 1-0 · Magnus Carlsen Inv KO · 2021-03-19
Search all games of the French Defense: Advance Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- El_Banditoff (2740) – GM cutemouse83 (2926) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM The_Fawkes (2686) – GM cutemouse83 (2913) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Epichess95 (2818) – McMasterKid (2768) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Advance Variation (3. e5 c5) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5
Continuations
- French Defense: Advance Variation (4. c3 Nc6) C02 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6
- French Defense: Advance Variation, Wade Variation C02 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7
More French Defense lines (all)
- French Defense (1. e4 e6) C00
- French Defense (2. d4 d5) C00
- French Defense: Alapin Gambit C00
- French Defense: Baeuerle Gambit C00
- French Defense: Banzai-Leong Gambit C00
- French Defense: Banzai-Leong Gambit, Pinova Gambit C00
- French Defense: Bird Invitation C00
- French Defense: Carlson Gambit C00
- French Defense: Chigorin Variation C00
- French Defense: Diemer-Duhm Gambit C00
- French Defense: Diemer-Duhm Gambit Accepted C00
- French Defense: Franco-Hiva Gambit C00
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.