French Defense: Classical Variation, Swiss Variation
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bd3
The French Defense: Classical Variation, Swiss Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C11, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bd3. It is a line of the French Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,025 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 4… c5 (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.13 (Stockfish, depth 43; best line 4… c5 5. Nf3 c4 6. e5 cxd3 7. exf6)
- ECO
- C11
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3p4/3PP3/2NB4/PPP2PPP/R1BQK1NR b KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bd3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 173 | |
| 1500-1999 | 568 | |
| 2000+ | 284 | |
| All | 1,025 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… c5 | 381 (37%) | |
| 4… dxe4 | 276 (27%) | |
| 4… Bb4 | 198 (19%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 81 (8%) | |
| 4… a6 | 20 (2%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 16 (2%) | |
| 4… c6 | 11 (1%) | |
| 4… Nfd7 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
309 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 18%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2778) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2024 · 2024-08-08
- GM Igor Kovalenko (2674) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2651) 0-1 · Chess.com Rapid Wk4 Swiss · 2022-03-05
- GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2604) – GM Rinat Jumabayev (2628) 0-1 · Chess.com Rapid Wk6 Swiss · 2022-03-19
- GM Nidjat Mamedov (2602) – GM Illya Nyzhnyk (2607) 1/2-1/2 · IsBank TCh-TUR 2013 · 2013-07-01
- FM Igor L. Vakhlamov (2413) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2742) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 24th May Early · 2022-05-24
Search all games of the French Defense: Classical Variation, Swiss Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FleakyGorgoz (2866) – FM Guary1 (2797) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- D40R3T5KY (2720) – Cerrh34 (2711) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Pblu35 (2653) – GM Dragso (2752) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Classical Variation (3. Nc3 Nf6) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6
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.