French Defense: Steinitz Variation (5… Nfd7 6. Ne2)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Ne2
The French Defense: Steinitz Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C11, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Ne2. 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 6 times by this move order. White won 83%, 0% were drawn and Black won 17%. The most popular continuation is 6… c5 (83% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.35 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 6… c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. g3 Be7 9. h4)
- ECO
- C11
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1ppn1ppp/p3p3/3pP3/3P4/5N2/PPP1NPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 2 6- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Ne2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… c5 | 5 (83%) | |
| 6… Be7 | 1 (17%) |
Master games
15 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 60%, draw 7%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2764) – GM Aleksandr Shimanov (2581) 1-0 · ChessKid Cup Div 1 W · 2023-05-22
- GM Samuel Sevian (2687) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2612) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2024 · 2024-06-10
- GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2533) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2692) 0-1 · Chess Stars 5.0 Rapid · 2025-06-26
- GM Ivan Cheparinov (2705) – GM Jon S Speelman (2503) 1-0 · 4NCL 2017-18 · 2018-05-06
- GM Sam Shankland (2672) – GM Emilio Cordova (2531) 0-1 · Saint Louis Masters 2024 · 2024-12-05
Search all games of the French Defense: Steinitz Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- AndyMcLEOD (2421) – Mack1980 (2236) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 600 + 0s
- FM Bobbybunny (2293) – Lomovka (2265) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- gs47 (2485) – meeedooo (1594) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
French Defense: Steinitz Variation (5. e5 Nfd7) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7
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.