Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation 4. Nf3 Bg7
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Statistics from Lichess
2,752,627 games: White 47.0% / Draw 6.7% / Black 46.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Petrosian System | 679,670680K | |
| 636,511637K | ||
| Burille Variation | 481,459481K | |
| Hungarian Attack | 399,796400K | |
| Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation | 195,625196K | |
| 158,660159K | ||
| 48,36048K | ||
| 47,24747K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Sep 26, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. h4 c6 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Bf4 Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 Bg4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 50% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 110K | |
| 1400–1799 | 703K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 629K | |
| Masters, over the board | 19K |
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 26, 2026
Overview
Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation (ECO D90, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 (4 moves).
In 2,752,627 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.0%, Black 46.4% and 6.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Bg5, in 25% of those games.
It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation and Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Petrosian System. In all, 21 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 answer 4…Bg7
5. Qb3 (Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation) scores best for White: 53.5%, with White winning 50.3% and Black 43.3% of 196K games. The most played, 5. Bg5, scores 51.1% in 680K games, and 5. e3 scores lowest: 48.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. h4.
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
This line peaked in 2018 at 0.14% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.094% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.11% | 39,813 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 69,014 |
| 2018 | 0.14% | 112,612 |
| 2019 | 0.13% | 166,646 |
| 2020 | 0.12% | 365,366 |
| 2021 | 0.11% | 425,266 |
| 2022 | 0.1% | 394,294 |
| 2023 | 0.098% | 370,179 |
| 2024 | 0.093% | 334,509 |
| 2025 | 0.094% | 325,769 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.095% | 104,399 |
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 (5)
All 21 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- 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 26 Sep 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/grunfeld-defense-three-knights-variation-2