Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Attack
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Statistics from Lichess
463,108 games: White 47.7% / Draw 6.3% / Black 46.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 316,500317K | ||
| 60,03660K | ||
| 30,31830K | ||
| 16,59817K | ||
| 13,88614K | ||
| 6,7116,711 | ||
| 5,0705,070 | ||
| 3,4233,423 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 3, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.05 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... O-O 6. Rc1 dxc4 7. e3 Be6 8. Ng5 Bd5 9. e4 h6 10. exd5
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 52% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 21K | |
| 1400–1799 | 137K | |
| 1800–2199 | 287K | |
| 2200 and up | 82K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,959 |
Master games
- Ivanchuk, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Kramnik, V. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Caruana, F.
- Radjabov, T. – 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, Hungarian Attack (ECO D92, 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 5. Bf4 (5 moves).
In 463,108 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.7%, Black 46.1% and 6.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…O-O, in 68% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian 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 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Attack
5…c5 scores best for Black: 52.0%, with Black winning 48.8% and White 44.8% of 30K games. The most played, 5…O-O, scores 50.5% in 317K games, and 5…c6 scores lowest: 45.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…O-O.
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 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Attack has lost ground since 2016: 0.015% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.019% (its peak: 0.025% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.019% | 6,813 |
| 2017 | 0.021% | 11,287 |
| 2018 | 0.025% | 19,699 |
| 2019 | 0.024% | 29,372 |
| 2020 | 0.022% | 63,651 |
| 2021 | 0.019% | 72,456 |
| 2022 | 0.017% | 65,010 |
| 2023 | 0.016% | 61,571 |
| 2024 | 0.015% | 55,253 |
| 2025 | 0.015% | 53,029 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.016% | 17,642 |
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. “Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Attack (D92)”. Lichess data as of 3 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/grunfeld-defense-three-knights-variation-hungarian-attack