Classical Variation, Steinitz Variation

The Steinitz Variation, named after Wilhelm Steinitz, is White's most direct answer to the Classical French. The move 4. e5 gains a tempo against the f6-knight, takes kingside space and settles the central question before Black's pressure on e4 becomes a concern. Where 4. Bg5 keeps the tension and pins the knight, the advance commits White to a closed center at once. The game then turns on the d4-e5 chain, which Black attacks with ...c5 and ...f6. In modern practice it is roughly as popular as 4. Bg5.

Black replies 4...Nfd7 in the large majority of games. The other two retreats are rare. 4...Ng8 returns the knight home and concedes White a lead in development. 4...Ne4 allows an exchange of knights on that square, which can damage Black's central pawns. On Lichess, 4...Ne4 in particular scores noticeably worse for Black than the main move.

After 4...Nfd7, White's principal plan is 5. f4, reinforcing e5 so that ...f6 is less effective. The main line runs 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3, with the bishop guarding d4. The plausible 7. Be2 is an error because of 7...cxd4 8. Nxd4 Ndxe5, when 9. fxe5 Qh4+ leaves Black a pawn ahead. Instead, 7. Ne2 transposes to the Shirov-Anand Variation. That line can also be reached directly with 5. Nce2, which reroutes the knight so that c3 and f4 can support the center. A third option, 5. Nf3, reaches a position that also arises from the Two Knights Variation.

In the 7. Be3 position Black has three broad approaches. It can increase the pressure on d4 with 7...Qb6 or 7...cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6. It can expand on the queenside with 7...a6 8. Qd2 b5. Or it can simply complete kingside development with 7...Be7 or 7...cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5. The last of these permits wholesale exchanges after 9. Qd2 Bxd4 10. Bxd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Qb6 12. Qxb6 Nxb6, known as the Vacuum Cleaner Variation. White, for its part, chooses between Qd2 with O-O-O and Be2 with O-O. Black usually castles kingside in both cases, so the queenside-castling setup gives opposite-side castling and the sharper game.

One reference text counts 4. e5 among White's highest-scoring tries against the French. On Lichess the line is one of the more frequently reached named positions. White's results there are only marginally better than Black's, and draws are uncommon. The engine assesses the position after 4. e5 as a slight edge for White.