French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Maróczy Variation
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 a6
The French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack, Maróczy Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C13, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 a6. It is a line of the French Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 201 times by this move order. White won 49%, 3% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 7. Qg4 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.76 (Stockfish, depth 56; best line 7. Qg4 Rg8 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Bd3 c5)
- ECO
- C13
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/1ppnbppp/p3p3/3pP1B1/3P3P/2N5/PPP2PP1/R2QKBNR w KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 a6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 67 | |
| 2000+ | 132 | |
| All | 201 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. Qg4 | 110 (55%) | |
| 7. Bxe7 | 28 (14%) | |
| 7. Nf3 | 18 (9%) | |
| 7. Bd3 | 12 (6%) | |
| 7. f4 | 9 (4%) | |
| 7. Nh3 | 8 (4%) | |
| 7. Qh5 | 6 (3%) | |
| 7. Nce2 | 5 (2%) |
Master games
289 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 61%, draw 11%, Black 28%). The strongest:
- Stoofvlees II a16 (3513) – rofChade 2.309 (3423) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-13
- rofChade 2.309 (3423) – Stoofvlees II a16 (3513) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-11
- GM Emin Ohanyan (2488) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2773) 0-1 · Comet Open Titled Losers · 2025-10-18
- GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (2657) – IM Alexey Reshetnikov (2492) 0-1 · Titled Tue 18th Mar Early · 2025-03-18
- GM Hrant Melkumyan (2663) – GM Vugar Rasulov (2478) 1-0 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 12 · 2020-06-06
Highest-rated Lichess games
- smihir6 (2702) – FM Guary1 (2868) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Ariel_mlr (2555) – IM Burjugul_7 (2582) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- benga77 (2423) – Zohaib_Gillani (2543) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4
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.