French Defense: Classical Variation, Delayed Exchange Variation
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5
The French Defense: Classical Variation, Delayed Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C11, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5. 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 923 times by this move order. White won 46%, 7% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4… exd5 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 4… exd5 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Be3 Nb4 7. Nf3)
- ECO
- C11
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3P4/3P4/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 100 | |
| 1500-1999 | 513 | |
| 2000+ | 310 | |
| All | 923 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… exd5 | 695 (75%) | |
| 4… Nxd5 | 216 (23%) | |
| 4… Nfd7 | 9 (1%) | |
| 4… Bb4 | 3 (0%) |
Master games
448 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 21%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2702) – GM Matthias Bluebaum (2643) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2020-03-25
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2702) – GM Matthias Bluebaum (2643) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2020-03-25
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2702) – GM Matthias Bluebaum (2643) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2020-03-25
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2702) – GM Matthias Bluebaum (2643) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2020-03-25
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2702) – GM Matthias Bluebaum (2643) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2020-03-25
Highest-rated Lichess games
- VoinTeka (2560) – Humfrey_Hardyng (2650) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- Lipsrow4 (2531) – L0cust (2502) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- Demon_of_Draws (2499) – L0cust (2511) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
French Defense: Classical Variation (3. Nc3 Nf6) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6
Continuations
- French Defense: Exchange Variation, Svenonius Variation C01 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5
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.