Chess opening · ECO C10
French Defense: Paulsen Variation
The Paulsen Variation is the position after 3.Nc3, where White protects e4 by developing a knight and keeps every bishop open. It is the gateway to the main lines of the French. Black has three standard answers: ...Bb4 pins the knight, ...Nf6 adds a second attacker to e4, and ...dxe4 gives up the center for easy development.
- Rank by weighted share
- #79 of 159
Key moves
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3
- 3. Nc3The knight guards e4 and develops toward the center without blocking the c1 bishop. The trade-off is that it now stands on c3, where a black bishop on b4 can pin it to the white king and take away its defense of e4.
Three black answers
...Bb4 is the Winawer. It pins the c3 knight, so e4 is suddenly short of defenders, and Black is often willing to give up the bishop for the knight to double White's c-pawns.
...Nf6 is the Classical. It attacks e4 a second time, and White usually decides between pushing e5 and pinning the knight with Bg5.
...dxe4 is the Rubinstein. Black hands White the center but gets simple development with ...Nd7 and ...Ngf6, and can later free the game with ...c5 or ...e5.
What ...dxe4 gives up
After Nxe4, White's knight is centralized and White keeps the d4 pawn with more space. Black's pawns have no weaknesses, but the c8 bishop is still behind e6, so Black's plans often revolve around ...b6 and ...Bb7 or a timely ...c5.
The Rubinstein setup
3... dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6
Black challenges the e4 knight with a knight of its own, backed by the d7 knight so that a trade on f6 can be met by a piece. The center is now White's, and Black looks for ...c5 to strike at d4.
Top replies by rating
dxe4 leads below 1400, Bb4 tops the 1400 to 1599 band, and Nf6 takes over from 1600 up with a share that keeps growing.
Related openings
Try it on the board. The first coached game and three analyses are free.