French Defense: Classical Variation, Burn Variation, Main Line
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 O-O
The French Defense: Classical Variation, Burn Variation, Main Line is a chess opening classified as ECO C11, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 O-O. 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 59 times by this move order. White won 47%, 11% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 8. Bd3 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.21 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 8. Bc4 Nd7 9. Qe2 a6 10. O-O b5)
- ECO
- C11
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/ppp2ppp/4pb2/8/3PN3/5N2/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R w KQ - 2 8- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 15 | |
| 2000+ | 44 | |
| All | 59 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Bd3 | 20 (34%) | |
| 8. c3 | 19 (32%) | |
| 8. Qd2 | 10 (17%) | |
| 8. Bc4 | 2 (3%) | |
| 8. Be2 | 2 (3%) | |
| 8. g3 | 2 (3%) | |
| 8. Qd3 | 1 (2%) | |
| 8. c4 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
190 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 24%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Ernesto Inarkiev (2675) – GM Igor Lysyj (2700) 1-0 · Moscow Open A 2015 · 2015-02-08
- GM Nils Grandelius (2644) – GM Constantin Lupulescu (2631) 0-1 · 20th European Teams · 2015-11-21
- GM Jose Carlos Ibarra Jerez (2567) – GM Sanan Sjugirov (2705) 0-1 · Titled Tue 24th Oct Early · 2023-10-24
- GM Robin Van Kampen (2615) – GM Sam Shankland (2652) 0-1 · 77th Tata Steel GpB · 2015-01-15
- GM Jose Carlos Ibarra Jerez (2559) – GM Matthias Bluebaum (2655) 1-0 · Titled Tue 16th Jan Early · 2024-01-16
Highest-rated Lichess games
- benga77 (2434) – Litigator94 (2559) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- CesarSuauGM (2424) – NM PerilousPawn (2509) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IM BadAsMe (2500) – artem1408 (2371) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
French Defense: Classical Variation (5. Nxe4 Be7) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7
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.