French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation (7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3
The French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C19, reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3. It is a line of the French Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4 times by this move order. White won 75%, 0% were drawn and Black won 25%. The most popular continuation is 8… Qa5 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.20 (Stockfish, depth 31; best line 8… Qa5 9. Bd2 Bd7 10. Be2 c4 11. Ng5)
- ECO
- C19
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pp2nppp/2n1p3/2ppP3/P2P4/2P2N2/2P2PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 2 8- PGN
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 4 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… Qa5 | 3 (75%) | |
| 8… Bd7 | 1 (25%) |
Master games
11 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 73%, draw 0%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2606) – IM Krishna C R G (2436) 1-0 · 18th Delhi Open 2020 · 2020-01-12
- GM Konstantin Landa (2615) – FM Klaus de Francesco (2235) 1-0 · 9th Capo d'Orso Open 2017 · 2017-06-10
- FM Khazar Babazada (2427) – Franz Robert Grafil (2221) 1-0 · Titled Tue 1st Mar Early · 2022-03-01
- GM Artur Gabrielian (2502) – Emanuel Joao Robarts Pires (2068) 0-1 · Portugal Open Rapid 2018 · 2018-02-10
- GM Mikhail Golubev (2461) – Evgenij Shuvalov (2073) 1-0 · Titled Tue 15th Aug Early · 2023-08-15
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MiranovicRajko (2556) – VoinTeka (2543) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- IM MILorenzana (2397) – Drobak (2379) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Toto4949 (2314) – LXProcane (2240) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation (6. bxc3 Ne7) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7
Continuations
- French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation (8… Qa5 9. Qd2) C19 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3 Qa5 9. Qd2
- French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation (8… Qa5 9. Bd2) C19 · 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3 Qa5 9. Bd2
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.