French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation (3. Nd2 Nf6)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6
The French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C05, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6. 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 6,889 times by this move order. White won 51%, 5% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4. e5 (88% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.42 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. c3 Nc6)
- ECO
- C05
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3p4/3PP3/8/PPPN1PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 135 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,207 | |
| 2000+ | 3,547 | |
| All | 6,889 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. e5 | 6,051 (88%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 667 (10%) | |
| 4. exd5 | 102 (1%) | |
| 4. Ngf3 | 27 (0%) | |
| 4. f3 | 20 (0%) | |
| 4. c3 | 9 (0%) | |
| 4. Qe2 | 3 (0%) | |
| 4. Qf3 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
3,796 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 18%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.28-dev+_69626 (3623) – Stockfish 14_202107131735 (3639) 1-0 · TCEC 21 Superfinal 2021 · 2021-07-24
- Stockfish 14_202107131735 (3639) – LCZero 0.28-dev+_69626 (3623) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Superfinal 2021 · 2021-07-24
- LCZero0.28.0-rc1_69146 (3614) – Igel3.0.5 (3512) 1-0 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-07-04
- Igel3.0.5 (3512) – LCZero0.28.0-rc1_69146 (3614) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-07-01
- LCZero v0.26.3_T60.66740 (3575) – KomodoDragon 2647.00 (3522) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-12-30
Search all games of the French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- CM ArtemChesSRU (2732) – IM J_Oneee (2743) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- emandr (2588) – FM Guary1 (2857) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- PyPsIk2012 (2725) – IM J_Oneee (2713) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Tarrasch Variation 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
Continuations
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Pawn Center Variation C05 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Botvinnik Variation C05 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 b6
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation (6. c3 Nc6) C05 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6
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.