French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open System (4. exd5 exd5)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5
The French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open System is a chess opening classified as ECO C08, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5. 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 1,139 times by this move order. White won 49%, 6% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 5. Ngf3 (52% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.19 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bxd7+ Qxd7 7. Ne2 cxd4)
- ECO
- C08
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/8/2pp4/3P4/8/PPPN1PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 53 | |
| 1500-1999 | 594 | |
| 2000+ | 492 | |
| All | 1,139 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Ngf3 | 596 (52%) | |
| 5. dxc5 | 258 (23%) | |
| 5. Bb5+ | 217 (19%) | |
| 5. c3 | 29 (3%) | |
| 5. Ndf3 | 26 (2%) | |
| 5. Qe2+ | 4 (0%) | |
| 5. Nb3 | 3 (0%) | |
| 5. Ne2 | 3 (0%) |
Master games
1,626 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 31%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- GM Gadir Guseinov (2613) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2881) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Rapid 2014 · 2014-06-16
- GM Yi Wei (2739) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2729) 1/2-1/2 · 11th Kings Blitz 2017 · 2017-11-28
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) – GM Daniel Fridman (2590) 1-0 · GRENKE Chess Classic 2024 · 2024-03-30
- GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2612) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) 1/2-1/2 · Clash of Claims 2024 · 2024-06-07
- GM Aleksander Mista (2606) – GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2734) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-POL Ekstraliga 2017 · 2017-11-25
Search all games of the French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- gmpawel (2788) – Americanchampion (2845) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- CM Sultai (2701) – Americanchampion (2834) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- canc3111 (2767) – CM EmirSharshenbek (2716) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open System (3. Nd2 c5) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5
Continuations
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open System, Advance Line C08 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Ngf3 c4
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open System, Main Line (5. Ngf3 Nc6) C09 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Ngf3 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.