Dutch Defense: Fianchetto Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
242,575 games: White 50.9% / Draw 5.9% / Black 43.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 130,521131K | ||
| Dutch Defense: Leningrad Variation | 78,61179K | |
| 16,20216K | ||
| 7,6887,688 | ||
| 4,3954,395 | ||
| 2,2362,236 | ||
| 991991 | ||
| 817817 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.44 White is slightly better
Best play: 3... g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2
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 worse this line does for White: White scores 56% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 8,966 | |
| 1400–1799 | 54K | |
| 1800–2199 | 151K | |
| 2200 and up | 53K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,667 |
Master games
- Wojtaszek, R. – Caruana, F.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Grischuk, A.
- Wang Yue – Ponomariov, R.
- Kasparov, G. – Gurevich, M.
- Grischuk, A. – Nakamura, H.
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
Dutch Defense: Fianchetto Variation (ECO A86, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Dutch Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 (3 moves).
In 242,575 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.9%, Black 43.2% and 5.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…e6, in 54% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Dutch Defense: Classical Variation and Dutch Defense: Leningrad Variation. In all, 24 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Dutch Defense: Fianchetto Variation
3…g6 (Dutch Defense: Leningrad Variation) scores best for Black: 48.2%, with Black winning 45.1% and White 48.6% of 79K games. The most played answer, 3…e6, scores lowest: 45.2% in 131K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…g6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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 Dutch Defense: Fianchetto Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.0092% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.011% (its peak: 0.013% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.011% | 4,019 |
| 2017 | 0.012% | 6,707 |
| 2018 | 0.013% | 10,125 |
| 2019 | 0.012% | 14,993 |
| 2020 | 0.01% | 30,195 |
| 2021 | 0.0087% | 34,048 |
| 2022 | 0.0089% | 33,360 |
| 2023 | 0.0083% | 31,271 |
| 2024 | 0.0086% | 30,998 |
| 2025 | 0.0092% | 31,949 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0094% | 10,358 |
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 (3)
All 24 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- A90 Dutch Defense: Classical Variation 4 moves
- A86 Dutch Defense: Hort-Antoshin System 5 moves
- A86 Dutch Defense: Leningrad Variation 3 moves
- A90 Classical Variation 5 moves
- A91 Classical Variation 4 moves
- A87 Leningrad Variation 5 moves
- A90 Dutch Defense: Nimzo-Dutch Variation 4 moves
- A92 Classical Variation 5 moves
- A91 Blackburne Attack 5 moves
- A90 Alekhine Variation 5 moves
- A92 Dutch Defense: Alekhine Variation 6 moves
- A96 Classical Variation 6 moves
- A92 Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation 6 moves
- A96 Buenos Aires Variation 7 moves
- A96 Huisl Variation 7 moves
- A97 Ilyin-Zhenevsky Variation 7 moves
- A92 Stonewall Variation 7 moves
- A93 Botvinnik Variation 7 moves
- A98 Alatortsev-Lisitsyn Line 8 moves
- A99 Modern Main Line 8 moves
- A97 Winter Variation 8 moves
- A95 Stonewall Variation 7 moves
- A94 Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation 8 moves
- A95 Chekhover Variation 9 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Dutch Defense: Fianchetto Variation (A86)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/dutch-defense-fianchetto-variation