A90

Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation, Modern Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

343,003 games: White 49.6% / Draw 7.1% / Black 43.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	123,438123K
	91,00191K
	27,13327K
	26,42326K
	17,31317K
	16,53417K
	11,76712K
	11,45111K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.33 White is slightly better

Best play: 7. Ne5 Nbd7 8. Bf4 Be7 9. Nd2 Nxe5 10. Bxe5 O-O 11. Nf3 Nd7

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	1,726
1400–1799	25K
1800–2199	214K
2200 and up	109K
Masters, over the board	3,316

Master games

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: Stonewall Variation, Modern Variation (ECO A90, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Dutch Defense: Classical Variation, reached after 1. d4 f5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 d5 6. O-O Bd6 (6 moves).

In 343,003 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.6%, Black 43.3% and 7.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Nc3, in 36% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation, Modern Variation

7. b3 scores best for White: 55.8%, with White winning 51.7% and Black 40.2% of 91K games. The most played, 7. Nc3, scores 52.4% in 123K games, and 7. cxd5 scores lowest: 48.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Ne5.

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 Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation, Modern Variation has stayed between 0.012% and 0.016% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.014% in 2025).

0.012%0.014%0.016%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.012%	4,305
2017	0.014%	7,488
2018	0.016%	12,444
2019	0.014%	17,813
2020	0.015%	43,266
2021	0.012%	47,657
2022	0.013%	47,384
2023	0.013%	47,489
2024	0.013%	45,873
2025	0.014%	47,911
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.014%	15,481

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation, Modern Variation (A90)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/dutch-defense-stonewall-variation-modern-variation