French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Hector Variation (6… cxd4 7. O-O)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. O-O
The French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Hector Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C02, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. O-O. It is a line of the French Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 362 times by this move order. White won 51%, 6% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 7… Bd7 (59% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7… Bd7 8. Re1 Nge7 9. h4 Rc8 10. h5)
- ECO
- C02
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1b1kbnr/pp3ppp/1qn1p3/3pP3/3p4/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6 | |
| 1500-1999 | 117 | |
| 2000+ | 239 | |
| All | 362 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Bd7 | 213 (59%) | |
| 7… dxc3 | 115 (32%) | |
| 7… Nge7 | 17 (5%) | |
| 7… Nh6 | 8 (2%) | |
| 7… Bc5 | 5 (1%) | |
| 7… a6 | 2 (1%) | |
| 7… f6 | 2 (1%) |
Master games
206 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 56%, draw 11%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Levon Aronian (2747) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 3rd Jun Early · 2025-06-03
- GM Vasif Durarbayli (2629) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2646) 1-0 · Lindores Abbey Tal Mem · 2021-11-08
- GM Awonder Liang (2590) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2646) 1-0 · Challengers Tour Final · 2021-10-15
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) – FM Al Tarbosh, W. (2256) 1-0 · Titled Tue 16th May Late · 2023-05-16
- GM Erik Blomqvist (2535) – GM Sergei Iskusnyh (2473) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 26th Jan · 2021-01-26
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Drogono (2813) – white-arkangel (2618) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- smihir6 (2720) – Caminero85 (2704) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- HighQualityO (2705) – OnePysy (2676) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3
Continuations
- French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Hector Variation (7… Bd7 8. Re1) C02 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. O-O Bd7 8. Re1
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.