Barnes Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
877,680 games: White 55.6% / Draw 3.8% / Black 40.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 452,889453K | ||
| 194,655195K | ||
| 68,73969K | ||
| 53,03953K | ||
| 48,76949K | ||
| 15,96316K | ||
| 8,2918,291 | ||
| 7,7687,768 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.61 White is clearly better
Best play: 2. d4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. Nge2 Qf7 6. a3 Bxc3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 39% under 1400, 44% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 834K | |
| 1800–2199 | 425K | |
| 2200 and up | 66K | |
| Masters, over the board | 5 |
Master games
- Priasmoro, N. – Fedoseev, V.
- Kupreichik, V. D. – Fritsche, L.
- Karpatchev, A. – Lisanti, A.
- Mai, P. – Van Rijn, W.
- Govoreanu, M. – Van Dael, S.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Barnes Defense (ECO B00, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the King's Pawn Game, reached after 1. e4 f6 (1 move).
In 877,680 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.6%, Black 40.6% and 3.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 2. d4, in 52% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Fried Fox Defense and Owen Defense: Unicorn Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Barnes Defense
The most played answer, 2. d4, also scores best for White: 58.7%, with White winning 56.8% and Black 39.4% of 453K games. Of the main answers, 2. Bc4 scores lowest: 56.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2. d4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Barnes Defense has stayed between 0.032% and 0.038% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.033% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.038% | 13,690 |
| 2017 | 0.032% | 17,674 |
| 2018 | 0.035% | 27,147 |
| 2019 | 0.033% | 41,078 |
| 2020 | 0.034% | 100,014 |
| 2021 | 0.035% | 135,981 |
| 2022 | 0.035% | 131,411 |
| 2023 | 0.034% | 128,875 |
| 2024 | 0.033% | 119,177 |
| 2025 | 0.033% | 115,393 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.032% | 34,646 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Barnes Defense (B00)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/barnes-defense