French Defense: Schlechter Variation
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3
The French Defense: Schlechter Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C00, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3. 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 5,620 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 3… dxe4 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.08 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 3… dxe4 4. Bxe4 Nf6 5. Bf3 Be7 6. Ne2)
- ECO
- C00
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/4p3/3p4/3PP3/3B4/PPP2PPP/RNBQK1NR b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 711 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,073 | |
| 2000+ | 1,836 | |
| All | 5,620 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… dxe4 | 2,203 (39%) | |
| 3… c5 | 1,543 (27%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 1,340 (24%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 189 (3%) | |
| 3… c6 | 95 (2%) | |
| 3… a6 | 43 (1%) | |
| 3… f5 | 34 (1%) | |
| 3… Bd7 | 34 (1%) |
Master games
5,265 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 19%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2808) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2808) 0-1 · 5th Norway Blitz 2017 · 2017-06-05
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2796) – GM So, W. (2812) 1-0 · 5th Norway Blitz 2017 · 2017-06-05
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2837) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2763) 0-1 · World Blitz Final · 2012-07-09
- GM Vladislav Kovalev (2648) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 5th May · 2020-05-05
- GM Robert Fontaine (2563) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2834) 0-1 · PRO League Group Stage · 2018-02-04
Search all games of the French Defense: Schlechter Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kuhmft (2858) – TheorySpeedrun (2646) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- kuhmft (2855) – CapybaraMelon (2624) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- DikiyDjo (2672) – Fraysinator (2721) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense (2. d4 d5) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5
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.