King's Pawn Game: Maróczy Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
3,682,812 games: White 50.7% / Draw 5.5% / Black 43.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,050,2222.1M | ||
| Philidor Defense | 598,386598K | |
| 466,615467K | ||
| 207,343207K | ||
| 129,779130K | ||
| 108,765109K | ||
| 41,50242K | ||
| 16,36616K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.62 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. Nf3 exd4 4. Nxd4 Be7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Qd2 Nc6
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 45% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 36% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 5.1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2M | |
| 2200 and up | 208K | |
| Masters, over the board | 607 |
Master games
- Mamedyarov, S. – Mamedov, R.
- Abdusattorov, N. – Martinez Alcantara, J. E.
- Moiseenko, A. – Mamedov, R.
- Naiditsch, A. – Mamedov, R.
- Riazantsev, A. – Mamedov, R.
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
King's Pawn Game: Maróczy Defense (ECO B07, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Pirc Defense, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 e5 (2 moves).
In 3,682,812 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.7%, Black 43.8% and 5.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. dxe5, in 56% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the King's Pawn Game: Maróczy Defense
3. Nf3 (Philidor Defense) scores best for White: 56.7%, with White winning 54.3% and Black 41.0% of 598K games. The most played, 3. dxe5, scores 52.8% in 2.1M games, and 3. d5 scores lowest: 48.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. Nf3.
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 King's Pawn Game: Maróczy Defense dipped to 0.13% of Lichess games in 2020 and has recovered since: 0.17% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.14% | 50,393 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 70,972 |
| 2018 | 0.13% | 99,023 |
| 2019 | 0.13% | 158,343 |
| 2020 | 0.13% | 368,355 |
| 2021 | 0.13% | 496,792 |
| 2022 | 0.13% | 502,483 |
| 2023 | 0.14% | 544,070 |
| 2024 | 0.16% | 564,091 |
| 2025 | 0.17% | 574,305 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.17% | 184,498 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Pawn Game: Maróczy Defense (B07)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game-maroczy-defense