French Defense: Advance Variation, Paulsen Attack
Chess opening · ECO C02 · 9 half-moves
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3
The French Defense: Advance Variation, Paulsen Attack is reached after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3. It is Black's move in the position shown.
It branches from the French Defense: Advance Variation with 3… c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3.
How often it is played
The French Defense: Advance Variation, Paulsen Attack and its variations appeared in 0.30% of games — 8,886 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 139 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 47%, 4.0% were drawn and Black won 49%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.34 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| French Defense: Exchange Variation | 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 | 1.3% |
| French Defense: Paulsen Variation | 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 | 0.65% |
| French Defense: Franco-Sicilian Defense | 1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5 | 0.21% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| French Defense: Advance Variation, Euwe Variation | 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 | 0.06% |
| French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit | 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 | 0.05% |
| French Defense: Advance Variation, Main Line | 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 | 0.03% |
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