French Defense: Classical Variation, Vistaneckis Variation
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Ng8
The French Defense: Classical Variation, Vistaneckis 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 Ng8. It is a line of the French Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 74 times by this move order. White won 45%, 4% were drawn and Black won 51%. The most popular continuation is 6. h4 (45% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.75 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 6. Be3 h5 7. Nf3 b6 8. a4 a5)
- ECO
- C13
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/ppp1bppp/4p3/3pP1B1/3P4/2N5/PPP2PPP/R2QKBNR w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Ng8
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 40 | |
| 2000+ | 34 | |
| All | 74 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. h4 | 33 (45%) | |
| 6. Bxe7 | 30 (41%) | |
| 6. Be3 | 10 (14%) | |
| 6. Bd2 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
17 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 24%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Kevin Spraggett (2577) – GM Marc Narciso Dublan (2549) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-CAT Div Hon 2013 · 2013-04-13
- GM Robert Hovhannisyan (2642) – FM Pavel Plotnikov (2297) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 19th May · 2020-05-19
- GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (2640) – FM Jaiveer Mahendru (2251) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Feb Early · 2025-02-11
- GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2584) – IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni (2279) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Dec Early · 2022-12-13
- GM Grzegorz Nasuta (2552) – CM Matfey Rogov (2191) 1-0 · Titled Tue 23rd Apr Late · 2024-04-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- darkswoop (2305) – PVZ1971 (2328) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- DrG2020 (2401) – Belgianmaster (2215) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 0s
- IceColdJason (2290) – dMachin (2259) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Classical Variation, Normal Variation 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7
Continuations
- French Defense: Classical Variation, Frankfurt Variation C13 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Ng8 6. Be3 b6
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.