Forever Chess GamesForever Chess Games Logo
CreateGiftsProductsGamesPlayersOpeningsTop 100FAQ

Explore

  • Players
  • Openings
  • Famous Games
  • Top 100 Games
  • World Championships

Create

  • Create Visualisation
  • How It Works
  • Gift Ideas

Eras

  • 1880s – Classical
  • 1960s – Fischer Era
  • 1990s – Kasparov Era
  • 2020s – Modern

Info

  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use

© 2026 Forever Chess Games. All Rights Reserved

  1. Home
  2. /Openings
  3. /French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation (C17)
C17

French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation

Key moves: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3/Nd2 dxe4

In the Rubinstein Variation, Black captures on e4, leading to open positions. White gets a slight space advantage but Black has solid development.

History & Notable Players

Named after Akiba Rubinstein, the legendary endgame player.

Top Players in this Opening

Aronian,L15 gamesShort, Nigel D11 gamesSpassky, Boris V10 gamesBotvinnik, Mikhail10 gamesKhalifman,A10 gamesDominguez Perez,L10 gamesTimman, Jan H10 gamesGrischuk,A8 gamesBronstein, David I7 gamesLeko, Peter7 games

Related Openings

C10 - French Defense: Marshall Gambit747C11 - French Defense: Steinitz Variation1538C12 - French Defense: McCutcheon Variation175C13 - French Defense: Classical Variation93C14 - French Defense: Classical Variation104C15 - French Defense: Winawer Variation278C16 - French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation263C18 - French Defense: Winawer Variation, Warsaw Variation487C19 - French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation379

Best Games

Leko,P vs So,W1/2-1/2
45th Olympiad 2024 2024Notable
Firouzja,Alireza vs Aronian,L1/2-1/2
Saint Louis Rapid 2024 2024Notable
Grischuk,A vs Mamedyarov,S1/2-1/2
6th Sinquefield Cup 2018 2018Notable
Carlsen,M vs Ivanchuk,V0-1
20th Amber Rapid 2011Notable
Leko,P vs Khalifman,A1-0
34th Olympiad 2000Notable
Shirov, Alexei vs Ljubojevic, Ljubomir1-0
Amber-rapid 5th 1996Notable
Leko, Peter vs Rabinovich, Alexander1-0
Wch U16 1994Notable
Kaplan, Julio P vs Timman, Jan H1-0
Wch U20 1967Notable
Asplund, Lennart vs Timman, Jan H0-1
Wch U20 1967Notable
Smyslov, Vassily vs Botvinnik, Mikhail1-0
World Championship 20th 1954Notable
Smyslov, Vassily vs Botvinnik, Mikhail0-1
World Championship 20th 1954Notable
Smyslov, Vassily vs Botvinnik, Mikhail1/2-1/2
World Championship 20th 1954Notable
Nepomniachtchi,I vs Aronian,L1/2-1/2
Titled Tue 3rd Jun Early 2025
Keymer,Vincent vs Praggnanandhaa,R0-1
7th Prague Masters 2025 2025
Firouzja,Alireza vs Aronian,L1-0
Julius Baer Gen Cup D1 L 2024
So,W vs Aronian,L1/2-1/2
SuperUnited CRO Blitz 2024 2024
Aronian,L vs Duda,J1/2-1/2
Aimchess US Rapid Prelim 2021
Anand,V vs So,W1/2-1/2
7th Norway Blitz 2019 2019
Dominguez Perez,L vs Topalov,V1-0
Champions Showdown Rapid 2019
Georgiadis,N vs Carlsen,M1/2-1/2
51st Biel GM 2018 2018

Explore More

All OpeningsAll Players