Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Open
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4
The Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Open is a chess opening classified as ECO B40, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 6 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 47,708 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nxd4 (91% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 51; best line 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6)
- ECO
- B40
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1p1ppp/4p3/8/3pP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5,015 | |
| 1500-1999 | 26,106 | |
| 2000+ | 16,587 | |
| All | 47,708 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nxd4 | 43,504 (91%) | |
| 4. Qxd4 | 2,088 (4%) | |
| 4. c3 Smith-Morra Gambit Deferred | 1,660 (3%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 198 (0%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 83 (0%) | |
| 4. Ng5 | 62 (0%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 27 (0%) | |
| 4. e5 | 22 (0%) |
Master games
1,049 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 13%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Levon Aronian (2764) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2822) 0-1 · 6th Norway Blitz 2018 · 2018-05-27
- GM Samuel Sevian (2687) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2859) 1/2-1/2 · MrDodgy Inv 3 Finals · 2022-11-30
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2763) – GM Yangyi Yu (2752) 1-0 · Saint Louis Blitz 2019 · 2019-08-14
- GM Samuel Sevian (2688) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2810) 0-1 · Titled Tue 16th Dec 2025 · 2025-12-16
- GM Narayanan S L (2647) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2799) 1/2-1/2 · Tata Steel India Blitz · 2024-11-16
Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Open and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sunrise34 (2901) – GM Dr_Tiger (2955) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Sunrise34 (2849) – FM Guary1 (2902) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM Kostik_Mostik (2896) – Danachess777 (2823) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: French Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Deferred B40 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. c3
- Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Normal B40 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
- Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation B41 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6
- Sicilian Defense: Kveinis Variation B40 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6
- Sicilian Defense: Paulsen-Basman Defense B40 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5
- Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation (4. Nxd4 Nc6) B44 · 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) B20
- Sicilian Defense: Amazon Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Big Clamp Formation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Brick Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit B20
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
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.