French Defense: Classical Variation
C11 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5
White scores 51.5% here across 1,021 club games — but the 6.8% who answer exd5 score 42.8%, 9 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 1,021 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 51.5% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| e5 | 561 | 54.9% | 51.1% | holds up |
| Bg5 | 297 | 29.1% | 54.0% | holds up |
| exd5 | 69 | 6.8% | 42.8% | below the line |
| Bd3 | 47 | 4.6% | 57.4% | holds up |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.