French Defense: Henneberger Variation
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Be3
The French Defense: Henneberger Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C11, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Be3. 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 63 times by this move order. White won 46%, 3% were drawn and Black won 51%. The most popular continuation is 4… dxe4 (57% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.60 (Stockfish, depth 33; best line 4… dxe4 5. a3 b6 6. Nge2 Bb7 7. Ng3)
- ECO
- C11
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3p4/3PP3/2N1B3/PPP2PPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Be3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 40 | |
| 2000+ | 18 | |
| All | 63 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… dxe4 | 36 (57%) | |
| 4… Nxe4 | 10 (16%) | |
| 4… Bb4 | 9 (14%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 3 (5%) | |
| 4… c5 | 2 (3%) | |
| 4… Bd7 | 1 (2%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 1 (2%) | |
| 4… g6 | 1 (2%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- granp9 (2245) – Korets (2262) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
- alsunko (2216) – SktKlemens (2247) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- Diemer85 (2206) – Sconrs37 (2062) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 600 + 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.