French Defense: Steinitz Variation (5. e5 Nfd7)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7
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. It is a line of the French Defense. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 11 times by this move order. White won 73%, 0% were drawn and Black won 27%. The most popular continuation is 6. Ne2 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.46 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 6. Ne2 c5 7. c3 Qa5 8. Bd2 Nc6)
- ECO
- C11
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1ppn1ppp/p3p3/3pP3/3P4/2N2N2/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| 2000+ | 6 | |
| All | 11 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Ne2 Steinitz Variation (5… Nfd7 6. Ne2) | 6 (55%) | |
| 6. Bd3 | 2 (18%) | |
| 6. Rb1 | 1 (9%) | |
| 6. Be3 | 1 (9%) | |
| 6. Bg5 Classical Variation (5… Nfd7 6. Bg5) | 1 (9%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 50%, Black 0%). The strongest:
- CM Stephen Willy (2320) – FM Benjamin Tang (2242) 1/2-1/2 · PNWCC Artist Point 2024 · 2024-09-01
- Zbigniew Robak (2134) – Jaroslaw Hemmerling (1917) 1-0 · TCh-POL 1st League 2025 · 2025-09-13
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
- KhR_2020 (2206) – Kurumukuku (2251) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
French Defense: Paulsen Variation 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3
Continuations
- French Defense: Classical Variation (5… Nfd7 6. Bg5) C14 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bg5
- French Defense: Steinitz Variation (5… Nfd7 6. a3) C11 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. a3
- French Defense: Steinitz Variation (5… Nfd7 6. Ne2) C11 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 a6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Ne2
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.