Dutch Defense: Queen's Knight Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
3,434,634 games: White 48.1% / Draw 4.8% / Black 47.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,116,9262.1M | ||
| 801,472801K | ||
| 241,943242K | ||
| 109,229109K | ||
| 70,14270K | ||
| 52,28552K | ||
| 13,76814K | ||
| 10,61911K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.37 White is slightly better
Best play: 3... e6 4. a3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. e3 O-O 7. b4 Qe7 8. Bb2
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 53% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 308K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.1M | |
| 2200 and up | 228K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,422 |
Master games
- Radjabov, T. – Nakamura, H.
- Aronian, L. – Kamsky, G.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Ponomariov, R.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Nakamura, H.
- Tomashevsky, E. – 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 26, 2026
Overview
Dutch Defense: Queen's Knight Variation (ECO A85, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Dutch Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 (3 moves).
In 3,434,634 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.1%, Black 47.1% and 4.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…e6, in 62% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Dutch Defense: Krause 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 Dutch Defense: Queen's Knight Variation
3…g6 scores best for Black: 50.6%, with Black winning 48.0% and White 46.9% of 801K games. The most played answer, 3…e6, scores lowest: 49.7% in 2.1M games. Stockfish's first choice is 3…e6.
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: Queen's Knight Variation peaked in 2019 at 0.16% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.13% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.14% | 50,879 |
| 2017 | 0.16% | 85,874 |
| 2018 | 0.16% | 123,526 |
| 2019 | 0.16% | 197,288 |
| 2020 | 0.14% | 418,953 |
| 2021 | 0.13% | 513,347 |
| 2022 | 0.13% | 489,890 |
| 2023 | 0.13% | 471,488 |
| 2024 | 0.12% | 444,777 |
| 2025 | 0.13% | 435,586 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.13% | 141,131 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Dutch Defense: Queen's Knight Variation (A85)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/dutch-defense-queens-knight-variation