Normal Variation

The Normal Variation is the position after 1. e4 e6 2. d4, by far White's most frequent second move against the French Defense. Placing a second pawn in the center opens lines for the queen and the c1-bishop. It also invites Black to carry out the plan announced by 1...e6, the immediate challenge ...d5. The position is one of the most frequently reached named positions in the Lichess database, and from here the game branches into nearly all of French theory.

The standard reply 2...d5, chosen in roughly two thirds of games, attacks e4 and forces White to decide how to handle the threat of ...dxe4. White's choice between 3. Nc3, 3. Nd2, 3. e5 and 3. exd5 shapes the whole game, and those lines belong to the main French Defense. Every other second move for Black is a minor sideline by comparison.

The most common alternative is 2...c5, the Franco-Sicilian, also known as the Franco-Benoni. It hands White a choice of structures. 3. Nf3 can transpose into an Open Sicilian, which Black could have reached directly with 1...c5. The move is therefore usually played in the hope of 3. d5, a Benoni-type position that a 1. e4 player may find unfamiliar. The capture 3. dxc5 is answered by 3...Bxc5, recovering the pawn with development.

2...d6, the Small Center Defense, gives the opening the Rat Defense label. Black keeps a modest e6/d6 pawn pair and can continue in Pirc fashion with ...g6, ...Bg7 and ...Nd7. 2...Nf6, the Mediterranean Defense, lets White gain space by harassing the knight and is considered dubious. 2...a6 is the St. George Defense. 2...f5, the Franco-Hiva Gambit or Kingston Defense, is regarded as unsound. After 3. exf5 Black either offers a pawn with 3...Nf6 4. fxe6, or plays 3...exf5, which opens the kingside without compensation. The Baeuerle Gambit, 2...b5, is almost never seen.

Overall results from the position are close to even, with White slightly ahead, and the engine considers it roughly balanced. Its top choice is 2...d5, followed by 2...a6 and 2...c5. Among the sidelines, 2...d6 and 2...Nf6 score noticeably worse for Black than the main move.