French Defense: Winawer Variation

ECO C15-C19intermediate

The Winawer, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4, is the French at its most combative. Black pins the knight, forces structural concessions with ...Bxc3 after 4.e5 c5, and accepts a long-term battle of imbalances: White gets the bishop pair, doubled c-pawns and attacking chances on the dark squares Black's exchanged bishop left behind; Black gets the superior pawn structure and play against c2 and d4. Botvinnik built a career on it, and it remains the sharpest mainline French.

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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.

What a brave first step! Your pawn marches up to e4, planting itself proudly in the middle of the board. Standing on this light square, it helps you grab space in the center, which is a super smart way to begin your game.
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.
You moved your knight from b1 to c3. This is a great developing move, bringing your knight out to help control the middle of the board!
Black moves their bishop from the back row to a new square. This is a good, developing move because it gets a piece out into the game.
Great move! Your pawn steps forward like a brave guard. It claims the middle of the board. This makes a strong wall for your team. Keep pushing to control the space!
Black advances the pawn from c7 to c5, challenging White's central pawn on d4 and undermining the e5 pawn.
White moves their bishop from c1 to d2. This is a good developing move, getting a piece into the game from the back row.
Black moves their knight from g8 to e7. This is a good developing move, getting the knight into the game.
White moves their knight from c3 to b5. It's a good move to get your knight into the game and closer to the middle of the board.
Black moves their bishop from b4 to d2. It takes a white bishop there and puts the white king in check! That's a great move.

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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	131	54.2%	6.9%	38.9%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3
600-800	47	57.5%	6.4%	36.2%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5
800-1000	41	56.1%	7.3%	36.6%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2
1000-1200	120	55.8%	1.7%	42.5%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5
1200-1400	99	48.5%	2%	49.5%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7
1400-1600	34	47.1%	8.8%	44.1%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7 6.Nb5 Bxd2+
1600-1800	46	45.7%	4.3%	50%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7
1800-2000	45	44.4%	2.2%	53.3%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7 6.Nb5 Bxd2+
2000-2200	129	51.9%	5.4%	42.6%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7 6.Nb5 Bxd2+
2200-2400	177	53.7%	5.1%	41.2%	1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7 6.Nb5 Bxd2+

Most played continuations (2200-2400 rating)

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7 6.Nb5 Bxd2+:

Qxd2 — played 100% of the time (White wins 53.7%, draws 5.1%, Black wins 41.2%)

Related openings

Frequently asked questions

Is the Winawer risky for Black?

It is double-edged by design — giving up the dark-squared bishop means White's Qg4 attacks against g7 must be taken seriously, especially in the Poisoned Pawn lines (7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7). But the structural compensation is permanent, and theory confirms Black's resources hold in every critical line.

What should White play against the Winawer?

5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 followed by the dual plans of Qg4 against the kingside or a4 and Ba3 activating the bishops. Quieter options like 4.exd5 or 4.Ne2 avoid the main fight but concede easy equality — the mainline structures are where White's chances live.