All Chess Positions Open the map

C10Opening

French Defense:Paulsen Variation

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3

a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1

Black to move

Legal moves
34
Games in the next 4 moves
1,678,767
Different positions among them
527,164
Named lines from here
119

See it on the mapOn the opening map

It is reached after 5 moves: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3. It is a line of the French Defense.

Black is to move and has 34 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 1,678,767 different games. Those games reach 527,164 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3.2 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 119 further lines after this position, such as Winawer Variation (3... Bb4) and Classical Variation (3... Nf6).

The same moves can be played in 12 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nc3, which starts as the Queen's Pawn Game.

Map of every game of the next four moves after the French Defense: Paulsen Variation
Every game of the next four moves from this position, as the map draws it. Each ring is one more move; the outer ring holds all 1,678,767 games.

Move by move

  1. 1. e4King's Pawn Game
  2. 1... e6French Defense
  3. 2. d4French Defense: Normal Variation
  4. 2... d5French Defense
  5. 3. Nc3French Defense: Paulsen Variation

Named lines from here

Famous games through this position

The Gold Coins GameLevitsky – Marshall, Breslau 1912, move 3Marshall's last move, his queen to g3, was so beautiful that, the story goes, spectators showered the board with gold coins.

Related openings

FEN

rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/4p3/3p4/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 1 3