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French Defense: Advance Variation: what should Black play?
Best move
c5+0.20
By playing c5, you immediately strike at the base of White's pawn chain. You are pressuring the d4 pawn and opening the diagonal for your Queen to potentially reach b6 or a5.
- Games played
- 4.23M
- To move
- Black
- Evaluation
- +0.20
- Depth
- 25
Game counts: Lichess opening book. Move ranking and evaluation: Stockfish. How this page is built
Why c5 is the best move
c5! — Excellent Choice!
✅ One of 2 top moves — you found the most principled way to challenge the center!
Why this move is excellent:
By playing c5, you immediately strike at the base of White's pawn chain. You are pressuring the d4 pawn and opening the diagonal for your Queen to potentially reach b6 or a5.
Multiple Valid Strategies
In this French Defense structure, you had two paths to equality. Both are objectively excellent but lead to different flavors of the game:
| Move | Eval | Style / Strategic Idea |
|---|---|---|
| c5 | +0.20 | Aggressive: Immediate central counter-attack. |
| Bd7 | +0.20 | Prophylactic: Preparing development before the strike. |
Different paths, same destination:
While c5 is the most popular and direct approach, Bd7 is a flexible alternative that prepares to bring the Knight to c6 without blocking the Bishop. Both moves aim to dismantle White's space advantage, just with different timing.
Your Continuation
After c5:
c3 Bd7 Nf3 Nc6
White usually reinforces the center with c3, leading to a classic battle where you continue to pile pressure on the d4 square with your minor pieces.
What Made This Move Good
You correctly saw: That you cannot let White sit comfortably with their space advantage. By attacking d4, you force White to commit their pieces to defense rather than preparing a kingside attack.
📚 Takeaway: Only 28% of humans find the most accurate moves here. You showed great theoretical intuition by choosing the most active break available!
What else gets played here
Move choices from 4.23M games in the opening book, with the engine's evaluation of each.
| Move | Evaluation | Played | Games | White score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c5Engine pick | +0.20 | 3.32M | — | |
| Ne7 | +0.39 | 92K | — | |
| a6 | +0.36 | 71K | — | |
| c6 | — | 54K | — | |
| Bd7 | +0.20 | 34K | — |
The line
More positions in the French Defense
- Best moved5Pawn d7 → d5French Defense: Knight Variation93M games
- Best moved4Pawn d2 → d4French Defense: Queen's Knight17M games
- Best moved5Pawn d4 → d5French Defense: Franco-Sicilian Defense16M games
- Best moveBd7Bishop c8 → d7French Defense: Advance Variation, Paulsen Attack14M games
- Best moved5Pawn d7 → d5French Defense13M games
- Best moved5Pawn d7 → d5French Defense: La Bourdonnais Variation12M games
Frequently asked questions
What is the best move for Black in the French Defense: Advance Variation?
c5 (+0.20). By playing c5, you immediately strike at the base of White's pawn chain. You are pressuring the d4 pawn and opening the diagonal for your Queen to potentially reach b6 or a5.
Why is c5 the best move here?
By playing c5, you immediately strike at the base of White's pawn chain. You are pressuring the d4 pawn and opening the diagonal for your Queen to potentially reach b6 or a5.
How often does this position occur?
This position has been reached 4.23M times in the opening book.