French Defense: Tarrasch Variation
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
The French Defense: Tarrasch Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C03, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2. It is a line of the French Defense. Black is to move. 7 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 21,134 times by this move order. White won 50%, 6% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nf6 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.10 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3… c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. exd5)
- ECO
- C03
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/4p3/3p4/3PP3/8/PPPN1PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 813 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9,981 | |
| 2000+ | 10,340 | |
| All | 21,134 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nf6 Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation (3. Nd2 Nf6) | 6,889 (33%) | |
| 3… c5 Tarrasch Variation, Open System (3. Nd2 c5) | 5,806 (27%) | |
| 3… dxe4 | 5,187 (25%) | |
| 3… Nc6 Tarrasch Variation, Guimard Defense | 1,049 (5%) | |
| 3… Be7 Tarrasch Variation, Morozevich Variation | 483 (2%) | |
| 3… a6 Tarrasch Variation, Modern System | 421 (2%) | |
| 3… c6 | 344 (2%) | |
| 3… h6 | 198 (1%) |
Master games
6,620 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 24%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 14_202107131735 (3639) – LCZero 0.28-dev+_69626 (3623) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Superfinal 2021 · 2021-07-26
- LCZero 0.28-dev+_69626 (3623) – Stockfish 14_202107131735 (3639) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Superfinal 2021 · 2021-07-24
- Stockfish dev16_202209170930 (3611) – LCZero 0.30-dag-bord-lf_784968 (3589) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- LCZero 0.30-dag-bord-lf_784968 (3589) – Stockfish dev16_202209170930 (3611) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
Search all games of the French Defense: Tarrasch Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Johnizard (2725) – GM cutemouse83 (2952) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Johnizard (2720) – GM cutemouse83 (2957) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- gmpawel (2788) – Americanchampion (2845) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
French Defense (2. d4 d5) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5
Continuations
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Closed Variation (3. Nd2 Nf6) C05 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Guimard Defense C03 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Haberditz Variation C03 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 f5
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Modern System C03 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 a6
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Morozevich Variation C03 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7
- French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open System (3. Nd2 c5) C07 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5
- French Defense: Rubinstein Variation, Kasparov Attack C10 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. c3
More French Defense lines (all)
- French Defense (1. e4 e6) 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
- French Defense: Franco-Hiva Gambit Accepted 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.