Sicilian French Variation: Win Rate by Lichess Rating

Sicilian Defense: French Variation · 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 · CC0 name list

At 1500–1799 (Lichess rating), Black scored 49.6% in 16,443 Sicilian Defense: French Variation games (±0.8; games from Oct 2025–Sep 2026).

Black won 47.8% of them, White won 48.6%, and 3.6% were drawn.

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

In games from Oct 2025–Sep 2026, Black scored 49.6% (±0.8) with the Sicilian Defense: French Variation in sampled Lichess games at the 1500–1799 Lichess rating level (16,443 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

1.3%

of rated games at Lichess rating 1800–2099 reached the Sicilian Defense: French Variation · 17,740 of 1,329,701 games, Oct 2025–Sep 2026 sample

Under 1200: 0.4%. At 1800–2099: 1.3%. 3.7× as common at 1800–2099 as under 1200.

Position after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6. 57,275 games in this sample reached it — 7,965 of them by a different move order.

At a glance

In this sample, White's score ranged from 49.0% (1200–1499) to 50.4% (1500–1799).
Treat this spread with caution: the margins are approximate (see How it works).
It appeared most often in the 2100+ group (1.6% of that group's games).
Draws were most common in the 2100+ group (5.6%).

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 Sicilian Defense: French 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. Sicilian Defense: French Variation — results by Lichess rating level, all time controls combined (minimum 300 games per row).

Under 12002,942 gamesCompared with

White wins 49.0% · draws 2.3% · Black wins 48.7% · White's score 50.2% ±1.8 · how common 0.4%
1200–14998,924 games

White wins 47.7% · draws 2.7% · Black wins 49.6% · White's score 49.0% ±1.0 · how common 0.7%
1500–179916,443 games

White wins 48.6% · draws 3.6% · Black wins 47.8% · White's score 50.4% ±0.8 · how common 1.0%
1800–209917,740 gamesIn the headline

White wins 47.5% · draws 4.1% · Black wins 48.4% · White's score 49.5% ±0.7 · how common 1.3%
2100+11,226 games

White wins 47.2% · draws 5.6% · Black wins 47.1% · White's score 50.1% ±0.9 · how common 1.6%

"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 Sicilian Defense: French Variation games ended in one Lichess time control, across all rating levels combined.

Sicilian Defense: French 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	20,968	48.1%	2.7%	49.1%	49.5%
Blitz	29,095	47.9%	4.5%	47.6%	50.2%
Rapid	6,955	47.1%	5.0%	47.9%	49.6%
Classical	257	Not enough games in this sample

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 White at each level

Top replies with at least 150 games. "Score" is White'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 c5 2.Nf3 e6 by Lichess rating level, all time controls combined
Rating level	Reply · share · games · score
Under 1200	3.d4 ·32.8% · 962 · 52.4% ±3.1 3.Bc4 ·29.4% · 864 · 49.1% ±3.3 3.Nc3 ·15.2% · 446 · 46.7% ±4.6
1200–1499	3.d4 ·39.9% · 3,559 · 49.7% ±1.6 3.Bc4 ·24.4% · 2,178 · 47.5% ±2.1 3.Nc3 ·12.1% · 1,083 · 48.8% ±2.9
1500–1799	3.d4 ·47.9% · 7,878 · 50.3% ±1.1 3.Bc4 ·16.1% · 2,642 · 47.5% ±1.9 3.c3 ·12.9% · 2,115 · 54.7% ±2.1
1800–2099	3.d4 ·54.4% · 9,647 · 49.0% ±1.0 3.c3 ·14.9% · 2,650 · 49.9% ±1.9 3.Nc3 ·9.5% · 1,683 · 49.9% ±2.3
2100+	3.d4 ·58.7% · 6,591 · 49.5% ±1.2 3.c3 ·13.8% · 1,552 · 51.4% ±2.4 3.Nc3 ·7.6% · 854 · 52.2% ±3.2

Up next: related positions with a page

Earlier position: Sicilian Defense 1.e4 c5
Related line: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 (Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation)
Related line: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 (Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon)
Related line: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 (Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation)

Other choices from the same position for Black: each one's own level and score, as on its page
Opening	Lichess rating level	Games	Black's score
vs Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6	1500–1799	39,118	49.0% ±0.5
vs Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6	1500–1799	20,387	50.0% ±0.7
vs Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Dragon 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6	1500–1799	3,276	50.1% ±1.7

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: Sicilian Defense: French 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.