French Defense: Advance Variation

ECO C02intermediate

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5, White stakes out a big space advantage and fixes the central pawn chain. The battle lines are drawn immediately: Black attacks the chain's base with ...c5, ...Nc6 and ...Qb6 — when the d4 pawn can become a permanent target — while White defends with c3 and Nf3 and uses the space edge to attack on the kingside, where Black's pieces struggle to defend. It is the most instructive pawn-chain position in chess.

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Main line

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.

Move by move

The first 12 moves of the main line, explained one at a time. Every move of every variation is annotated like this inside the trainer — this page shows the opening moves so you can judge the explanations before signing up.

Great first move! Your pawn marches up to e4, a light square right in the middle of the board. Grabbing the center early like this gives your pieces room to come out and helps you start the game with confidence.
Black advances the pawn one square, controlling central space and preparing for future piece development.
This is a strong, principled move. By advancing your d-pawn two squares, you immediately establish a powerful pawn center with e4 and d4. This is the standard and best response against Black's French Defense (1...e6), opening lines for your pieces.
Black moves a pawn from its home square to the middle of the board. This is a strong start because it helps control the important middle squares.
Great move! Your pawn steps forward from e4 to e5. This helps you control the key middle squares of the board.
Black advances the pawn from c7 to c5, directly challenging White's pawn on d4 and aiming to undermine the central pawn chain.
White advances the pawn to c3, reinforcing the d4 pawn and preparing to support a future b4 advance.
Black moves the knight from its home square out toward the middle of the board. It's a good, simple move to get a piece into the game.
You move your knight from g1 to f3. This is a great developing move! It gets your knight into the game and ready for action.
Black moves their queen from its starting spot to b6. This is a good developing move, bringing a strong piece into the game and onto a useful square.
White moves a pawn from a2 to a3. It's a small step forward, but it's a good start to make space for your pieces.
Black moves a pawn from c5 to c4. It's a brave push forward! This can help control more space in the middle of the board.

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Win rates by rating

Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.

Rating	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	Position after
400-600	102	55.9%	3.9%	40.2%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5
600-800	37	35.1%	5.4%	59.5%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3
800-1000	34	52.9%	0%	47.1%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4
1000-1200	364	49.2%	1.9%	48.9%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3
1200-1400	529	48.4%	2.6%	49%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4
1400-1600	1,484	47.7%	3.3%	49%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4
1600-1800	397	44.3%	3.5%	52.1%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4
1800-2000	1,002	45.3%	3.2%	51.5%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4
2000-2200	1,411	46.7%	5.8%	47.5%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4
2200-2400	1,065	50.5%	4.9%	44.6%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4

Most played continuations (1400-1600 rating)

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4:

Be2 — played 48.5% of the time (White wins 48%, draws 3.6%, Black wins 48.4%)
Nbd2 — played 33.8% of the time (White wins 48.7%, draws 3.2%, Black wins 48.1%)
b4 — played 3.4% of the time (White wins 37.2%, draws 3.9%, Black wins 58.8%)

Related openings

Frequently asked questions

What is White's plan in the Advance French?

Hold d4, then convert the space advantage into a kingside attack: typical ideas include Bd3, h4-h5, and the Nf3-g5 or Bxh7 motifs once Black castles short. The advanced e5 pawn cramps Black's kingside defenders, which is the variation's whole point.

How does Black get counterplay against 3.e5?

Relentless pressure on d4: ...c5, ...Nc6, ...Qb6 and often ...Nh6-f5. If White overextends defending it, breaks like ...f6 against e5 or piece sacrifices on d4 follow. Black usually delays castling until the queenside play is rolling.