--- title: "French Defense win rate" url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/french-defense.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/french-defense" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "White scored 50.5% in 102,129 French Defense games on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # French Defense win rate > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. White scored 50.5% in 102,129 French Defense games on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines. White scored 50.5% (margin 0.3 points) in 102,129 rated games of the French Defense, ECO C00, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 3 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 6.3% of all games. ## How often does White win in the French Defense? White won 48.3% of the 102,129 games, 4.4% were drawn and Black won 47.3%. White's score of 50.5% is lower than White's score across all openings (51.9%) by 1.4 points, more than the margin of 0.3 points. **Results of 102,129 French Defense games, 1 September 2026.** | Result | Games | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | White wins | 49,296 | 48.3% | | Draws | 4,479 | 4.4% | | Black wins | 48,354 | 47.3% | ## Does the French Defense score differently at different ratings? White's score is highest at 2000 and above (51.2%) and lowest at under 1200 (49.5%). That spread of 1.7 points is inside the two margins added together, so the data show no clear difference between the bands. Players rated 2000 and above choose the French Defense most often relative to their other openings, in 7.0 percent of their games. **White's score in the French Defense by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.** | Rating band | Games | Share of the band | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | under 1200 | 13,600 | 5.0% | 49.5% | 0.8 | | 1200 to 1599 | 35,985 | 6.2% | 50.5% | 0.5 | | 1600 to 1999 | 41,635 | 6.9% | 50.5% | 0.5 | | 2000 and above | 10,909 | 7.0% | 51.2% | 0.9 | ## How does the French Defense do in blitz, rapid and classical? The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out. **White's score in the French Defense by time control, 1 September 2026.** | Time control | Games | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Blitz | 77,598 | 50.5% | 0.3 | | Rapid | 23,815 | 50.2% | 0.6 | ## What are the most played lines of the French Defense? The most played named line is the Exchange Variation, with 17,815 games and a White score of 50.8%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row. **Named lines of the French Defense, most played first, 1 September 2026.** | Line | Games | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Exchange Variation | 17,815 | 50.8% | 0.7 | | Knight Variation | 14,010 | 50.1% | 0.8 | | Normal Variation | 8,336 | 52.4% | 1.1 | | Advance Variation | 8,110 | 49.8% | 1.1 | | La Bourdonnais Variation | 4,019 | 50.3% | 1.5 | | Advance Variation, Nimzowitsch System | 3,159 | 47.6% | 1.7 | | Advance Variation, Paulsen Attack | 2,975 | 48.5% | 1.8 | | Queen's Knight | 2,917 | 50.0% | 1.8 | | King's Indian Attack | 2,853 | 51.0% | 1.8 | | Steinitz Attack | 1,845 | 51.1% | 2.2 | | Main line and less played lines | 14,487 | 49.6% | 0.8 | ## How were these opening statistics measured? Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the win rate of the French Defense?** White won 48.3%, drew 4.4% and lost 47.3% of 102,129 games, a White score of 50.5% with a margin of 0.3 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026. **Is the French Defense good for White?** At these ratings White's score was lower than White's score across all openings (51.9%) by 1.4 points, more than the margin of 0.3 points. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening. **What is the most popular line of the French Defense?** The Exchange Variation was the most played named line, with 17,815 games, which is 17.4% of the French Defense games. ## Sources - [Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026](https://database.lichess.org/), read 2026-10-22 ## Related - [Queen's Pawn Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/queens-pawn-game.md) - [Caro-Kann Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/caro-kann-defense.md) - [Sicilian Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/sicilian-defense.md) - [Scandinavian Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/scandinavian-defense.md) - [Italian Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/italian-game.md) - [King's Pawn Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/kings-pawn-game.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md) - [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md) - [Chess terms glossary](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md) - [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md) Last updated 2026-10-22. ## Related - [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md) - [Chess openings by rating: under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)