French Defense: Exchange Variation (2… d5 3. exd5)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5
The French Defense: Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C01, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5. It is a line of the French Defense. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 73,030 times by this move order. White won 48%, 6% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3… exd5 (94% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.13 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 3… exd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd6 6. c4)
- ECO
- C01
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/4p3/3P4/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 14,747 | |
| 1500-1999 | 46,343 | |
| 2000+ | 11,940 | |
| All | 73,030 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… exd5 | 68,486 (94%) | |
| 3… Qxd5 | 3,874 (5%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 267 (0%) | |
| 3… c5 | 216 (0%) | |
| 3… e5 | 60 (0%) | |
| 3… c6 | 28 (0%) | |
| 3… Qd6 | 11 (0%) | |
| 3… Bb4+ | 9 (0%) |
Master games
6,504 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 28%, draw 28%, Black 44%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2786) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2017 · 2018-01-03
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2762) 1/2-1/2 · Superbet POL Rapid 2024 · 2024-05-08
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2762) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2802) 0-1 · Saint Louis Blitz 2024 · 2024-08-16
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2776) 1/2-1/2 · FTX Crypto Cup Prelim · 2021-05-25
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2764) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Apr Late · 2023-04-11
Search all games of the French Defense: Exchange Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sunrise34 (2863) – GM cutemouse83 (2964) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Sunrise34 (2862) – FM Guary1 (2889) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- vistagusta (2833) – GM cutemouse83 (2917) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense (2. d4 d5) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5
Continuations
- French Defense: Exchange Variation (3… exd5 4. Nf3) C01 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3
- French Defense: Exchange Variation (3… exd5 4. Nc3) C01 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nc3
- French Defense: Exchange Variation, Monte Carlo Variation C01 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. c4
More French Defense lines (all)
- French Defense (1. e4 e6) 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
- French Defense: Franco-Hiva Gambit Accepted 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.