French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Guimard Defense
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6
The French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Guimard Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C03, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6. It is a line of the French Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,049 times by this move order. White won 47%, 6% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4. Ngf3 (47% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.50 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. Nb3 Be7)
- ECO
- C03
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n1p3/3p4/3PP3/8/PPPN1PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 39 | |
| 1500-1999 | 342 | |
| 2000+ | 668 | |
| All | 1,049 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Ngf3 | 490 (47%) | |
| 4. c3 | 409 (39%) | |
| 4. Bb5 | 55 (5%) | |
| 4. exd5 | 37 (4%) | |
| 4. e5 | 33 (3%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 12 (1%) | |
| 4. Ne2 | 9 (1%) | |
| 4. c4 | 3 (0%) |
Master games
706 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 15%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2775) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2764) 0-1 · Piterenka Blitz 2012 · 2012-12-29
- GM Jorden Van Foreest (2682) – GM Yuriy Kuzubov (2605) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Early · 2024-01-09
- GM Vadim Zvjaginsev (2660) – GM Pavel Ponkratov (2610) 1/2-1/2 · ch-RUS Rapid 2015 · 2015-05-14
- GM Eltaj Safarli (2660) – GM Pavel Ponkratov (2605) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Blitz 2013 · 2013-06-10
- GM Igor Kovalenko (2635) – GM Kirill Stupak (2565) 0-1 · Paul Keres Memorial 2018 · 2018-01-14
Search all games of the French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Guimard Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Meatloaf927 (2699) – Kingkennytv (2653) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- TregubenkoKolya_2010 (2624) – Kingkennytv (2655) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Barry_Lindon (2605) – Kingkennytv (2669) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Tarrasch Variation 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
Continuations
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Guimard Defense, Main Line C04 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 Nf6
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Guimard Defense, Thunderbunny Variation C03 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. c3 dxe4 5. Nxe4 e5
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.