French Defense 2.d4: Win Rate by Lichess Rating

French Defense: Normal Variation · 1.e4 e6 2.d4 · CC0 name list

At 1500–1799 (Lichess rating), White scored 50.2% in 45,972 French Defense: Normal Variation games (±0.4; games from Oct 2025–Sep 2026).

White won 48.3% of them, Black won 47.9%, and 3.8% were drawn.

No clear difference from 50% at this level (inside the margin)

In games from Oct 2025–Sep 2026, White scored 50.2% (±0.4) with the French Defense: Normal Variation in sampled Lichess games at the 1500–1799 Lichess rating level (45,972 games). Observed results, not causation.

Data period: games from 1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026 (sample of the Lichess open database) · Page updated: 9 Oct 2026

3.5%

of rated games at Lichess rating 1800–2099 reached the French Defense: Normal Variation · 46,139 of 1,329,701 games, Oct 2025–Sep 2026 sample

Under 1200: 1.7%. At 1800–2099: 3.5%. 2.0× as common at 1800–2099 as under 1200.

Position after 1.e4 e6 2.d4. 158,650 games in this sample reached it — 16,854 of them by a different move order.

At a glance

In this sample, White's score ranged from 50.2% (1500–1799) to 51.7% (Under 1200).
Treat this spread with caution: the margins are approximate (see How it works).
It appeared most often in the 1800–2099 group (3.5% of that group's games).
Draws were most common in the 2100+ group (5.9%).

These are observed results for the selected games (rated, players within 200 rating points of each other). They describe what happened — they do not prove the opening caused the result.

Results by Lichess rating level

Each row shows how the French Defense: Normal Variation games at one rating level ended: White wins, draws and Black wins, across all time controls combined. Rating level is the average Lichess rating of both players.

White won drawn Black won. French Defense: Normal Variation — results by Lichess rating level, all time controls combined (minimum 300 games per row).

Under 120014,123 gamesCompared with

White wins 49.9% · draws 3.5% · Black wins 46.6% · White's score 51.7% ±0.8 · how common 1.7%
1200–149928,563 games

White wins 48.8% · draws 3.0% · Black wins 48.2% · White's score 50.3% ±0.6 · how common 2.4%
1500–179945,972 games

White wins 48.3% · draws 3.8% · Black wins 47.9% · White's score 50.2% ±0.4 · how common 2.9%
1800–209946,139 gamesIn the headline

White wins 48.2% · draws 4.5% · Black wins 47.3% · White's score 50.5% ±0.4 · how common 3.5%
2100+23,853 games

White wins 48.7% · draws 5.9% · Black wins 45.4% · White's score 51.6% ±0.6 · how common 3.5%

"White's score" = wins + half of draws. "±" is an approximate 95% margin based only on the number of games. It does not cover sampling bias or related games (the same players appear many times), so real uncertainty is larger. "How common" = share of all sampled games at that level that reached this position. Ratings are Lichess ratings; they are not interchangeable with Chess.com or FIDE ratings.

Compare it with another choice from the same position, at the Lichess level and time control you choose: Compare in Find Your Opening (the comparison needs JavaScript)

Results by time control

Each row shows how the French Defense: Normal Variation games ended in one Lichess time control, across all rating levels combined.

French Defense: Normal Variation — results by time control, all rating levels combined (minimum 300 games per row)
Time control	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	White's score
Bullet	49,048	48.6%	2.9%	48.4%	50.1%
Blitz	82,389	48.4%	4.6%	47.0%	50.7%
Rapid	26,235	48.8%	4.9%	46.3%	51.3%
Classical	978	49.8%	5.4%	44.8%	52.5%

This table and the rating rows are separate summaries: rating levels are not split by time control here, and time controls are not split by rating. Observed results only; approximate uncertainty applies as above.

Most played replies for Black at each level

Top replies with at least 150 games. "Score" is Black's score after that reply (wins + half of draws). These comparisons alone can't show that one reply is reliably better — the margins are approximate and stronger or weaker players may prefer different replies.

Replies to 1.e4 e6 2.d4 by Lichess rating level, all time controls combined
Rating level	Reply · share · games · score
Under 1200	2...d5 ·51.7% · 7,291 · 49.7% ±1.1 2...d6 ·6.9% · 968 · 45.9% ±3.1 2...c5 ·6.2% · 877 · 47.4% ±3.3
1200–1499	2...d5 ·59.3% · 16,933 · 50.4% ±0.7 2...c5 ·8.1% · 2,314 · 49.2% ±2.0 2...d6 ·6.3% · 1,794 · 49.2% ±2.3
1500–1799	2...d5 ·65.3% · 29,988 · 50.3% ±0.6 2...c5 ·7.7% · 3,528 · 50.2% ±1.6 2...b6 ·5.4% · 2,490 · 49.3% ±1.9
1800–2099	2...d5 ·74.3% · 34,287 · 50.0% ±0.5 2...c5 ·6.0% · 2,782 · 49.4% ±1.8 2...b6 ·4.5% · 2,098 · 48.7% ±2.1
2100+	2...d5 ·82.7% · 19,731 · 48.6% ±0.7 2...c5 ·4.6% · 1,104 · 49.4% ±2.9 2...b6 ·2.9% · 699 · 45.2% ±3.6

Up next: related positions with a page

Earlier position: French Defense 1.e4 e6
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 (King's Knight Opening)
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 (Italian Game)
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 (Bishop's Opening)

Other choices from the same position for White: each one's own level and score, as on its page
Opening	Lichess rating level	Games	White's score
vs French Defense: Knight Variation 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3	1500–1799	31,806	49.5% ±0.5

Each row is a separate page with its own games. A difference smaller than the two margins combined is no clear difference. Observed results, not causation.

Download these numbers: French Defense: Normal Variation (CSV), released under CC0. For move-by-move exploration with your own filters, see the free Lichess opening explorer. This independent page lists each rating level and each time control in its own row for comparison.