Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
1,869,049 games: White 48.0% / Draw 6.3% / Black 45.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,730,2301.7M | ||
| Slav Defense: Schlechter Variation | 57,92958K | |
| 43,02343K | ||
| 11,52112K | ||
| 10,85611K | ||
| 6,1616,161 | ||
| 2,9982,998 | ||
| 1,7231,723 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Be3 Qa5 9. Qd2
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 51% 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 | 85K | |
| 1400–1799 | 523K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.1M | |
| 2200 and up | 363K | |
| Masters, over the board | 13K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Grischuk, A.
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
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
Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation (ECO D90, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Grünfeld Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 (4 moves).
In 1,869,049 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.0%, Black 45.7% and 6.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bg7, in 93% of those games.
It continues into one named variation. In all, 22 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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Popularity by year
The Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.064% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.077% (its peak: 0.097% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.077% | 27,582 |
| 2017 | 0.085% | 46,527 |
| 2018 | 0.097% | 75,937 |
| 2019 | 0.09% | 111,700 |
| 2020 | 0.084% | 245,167 |
| 2021 | 0.075% | 291,629 |
| 2022 | 0.072% | 270,557 |
| 2023 | 0.067% | 252,672 |
| 2024 | 0.063% | 226,697 |
| 2025 | 0.064% | 220,353 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.064% | 69,845 |
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)
Transpositions
All 22 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- D90 Three Knights Variation 4 moves
- D90 Grünfeld Defense: Flohr Variation 5 moves
- D96 Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation 5 moves
- D94 Burille Variation 5 moves
- D92 Hungarian Attack 5 moves
- D91 Petrosian System 5 moves
- D94 Grünfeld Defense: Makogonov Variation 6 moves
- D94 Grünfeld Defense: Opocensky Variation 6 moves
- D97 Russian Variation 7 moves
- D93 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Variation 6 moves
- D94 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Paris Variation 6 moves
- D95 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Vienna Variation 6 moves
- D95 Grünfeld Defense: Botvinnik Variation 6 moves
- D97 Byrne Variation 7 moves
- D97 Hungarian Variation 7 moves
- D97 Levenfish Variation 7 moves
- D97 Prins Variation 7 moves
- D98 Smyslov Variation 7 moves
- D97 Szabo Variation 7 moves
- D98 Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation, Keres Variation 11 moves
- D99 Smyslov Variation 9 moves
- D99 Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation, Yugoslav Variation 9 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation (D90)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/grunfeld-defense-three-knights-variation