French Defense: Marshall Gambit
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 c5
The French Defense: Marshall Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C10, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 c5. It is a line of the French Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 6,155 times by this move order. White won 53%, 3% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4. exd5 (35% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.16 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. dxc5 Nf6)
- ECO
- C10
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/4p3/2pp4/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 c5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2,643 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,098 | |
| 2000+ | 414 | |
| All | 6,155 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. exd5 | 2,145 (35%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 1,751 (28%) | |
| 4. dxc5 | 848 (14%) | |
| 4. Bb5+ | 464 (8%) | |
| 4. Be3 | 455 (7%) | |
| 4. e5 | 277 (5%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 49 (1%) | |
| 4. f4 | 36 (1%) |
Master games
370 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 56%, draw 13%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2743) – FM Dmitry Goltsev (2216) 0-1 · Titled Tue 7th Mar Late · 2023-03-07
- GM Levon Aronian (2729) – FM Dmitry Goltsev (2215) 1-0 · Titled Tue 16th Apr Early · 2024-04-16
- IM Ashot Nadanian (2428) – IM Kazbek Akbaev (2475) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2013 · 2013-06-09
- GM Gata Kamsky (2666) – FM Dmitry Goltsev (2216) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Jan Late · 2023-01-03
- GM Gata Kamsky (2663) – FM Dmitry Goltsev (2216) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Mar Late · 2023-03-07
Search all games of the French Defense: Marshall Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- SouthWind06 (2568) – IM Burjugul_7 (2596) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- DumbTactic101 (2531) – HNKTO_HE_BNHOBAT (2427) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- KrUeL (2439) – Bagii_Bagii (2424) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Paulsen Variation 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3
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.