Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Open
B40 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4
White scores 49.3% here across 2,243 club games — but the 5.6% who answer Qxd4 score 41.3%, 8 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 2,243 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 49.3% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nxd4 | 1,948 | 86.8% | 49.9% | holds up |
| Qxd4 | 126 | 5.6% | 41.3% | below the line |
| c3 | 121 | 5.4% | 48.3% | holds up |
| Bc4 | 42 | 1.9% | 46.4% | 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.