French Defense: Franco-Sicilian Defense
1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5
The French Defense: Franco-Sicilian Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C00, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5. 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 19,421 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3. d5 (32% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.58 (Stockfish, depth 59; best line 3. d5 Nf6 4. Nc3 d6 5. dxe6 Bxe6)
- ECO
- C00
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1p1ppp/4p3/2p5/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6,202 | |
| 1500-1999 | 11,428 | |
| 2000+ | 1,791 | |
| All | 19,421 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d5 French Benoni | 6,136 (32%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 4,901 (25%) | |
| 3. c3 | 4,417 (23%) | |
| 3. dxc5 | 2,335 (12%) | |
| 3. e5 | 410 (2%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 403 (2%) | |
| 3. Be3 | 339 (2%) | |
| 3. f4 | 101 (1%) |
Master games
712 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 15%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Avital Boruchovsky (2553) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2729) 0-1 · Titled Tue 17th Jan Late · 2023-01-17
- GM Milosz Szpar (2499) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2751) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thu 16th Apr 2026 · 2026-04-16
- GM Vladimir Baklan (2587) – GM Ruslan Ponomariov (2631) 0-1 · Gladiators May 18th-22nd · 2020-05-22
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Jose Carlos Ibarra Jerez (2558) 1-0 · Speed Chess GP3 2021 · 2021-10-02
- FM Rustam Rustamov (2355) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2729) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th Dec 2025 · 2025-12-30
Search all games of the French Defense: Franco-Sicilian Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Squoznyak (2873) – FM Guary1 (2907) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- evg85 (2793) – FM Guary1 (2800) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Andriy_2007 (2595) – IM rhinoceros2015 (2683) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Normal Variation 1. e4 e6 2. d4
Continuations
- Benoni Defense: French Benoni A43 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5 3. d5
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.