Queen's Gambit Accepted 3. Nf3 Nf6
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Statistics from Lichess
1,838,716 games: White 53.3% / Draw 5.9% / Black 40.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Variation | 768,896769K | |
| Showalter Variation | 715,084715K | |
| 152,879153K | ||
| Mannheim Variation | 74,39074K | |
| 43,02043K | ||
| 23,25023K | ||
| 22,89223K | ||
| 15,05015K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.22 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. e3 c5 5. Bxc4 a6 6. O-O e6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 42% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 716K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 919K | |
| 2200 and up | 365K | |
| Masters, over the board | 15K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- So, W. – Caruana, F.
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
Queen's Gambit Accepted (ECO D23, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 (3 moves).
In 1,838,716 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.3%, Black 40.8% and 5.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. e3, in 42% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Accepted: Showalter Variation and Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal 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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How to answer 3…Nf6
4. g3 scores best for White: 57.2%, with White winning 54.5% and Black 40.0% of 153K games. The most played, 4. e3, scores 56.5% in 769K games, and 4. Nc3 scores lowest: 56.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. e3.
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 has stayed between 0.068% and 0.079% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.071% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.078% | 27,728 |
| 2017 | 0.079% | 43,434 |
| 2018 | 0.077% | 60,587 |
| 2019 | 0.074% | 92,774 |
| 2020 | 0.075% | 219,472 |
| 2021 | 0.068% | 264,137 |
| 2022 | 0.07% | 261,940 |
| 2023 | 0.069% | 261,268 |
| 2024 | 0.069% | 246,252 |
| 2025 | 0.071% | 246,894 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.075% | 81,942 |
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 (3)
All 22 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- D23 Mannheim Variation 4 moves
- D25 Normal Variation 4 moves
- D24 Showalter Variation 4 moves
- D24 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Bogoljubow Defense 5 moves
- D24 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Gunsberg Defense, Prianishenmo Gambit 7 moves
- D25 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Janowski-Larsen Variation 4 moves
- D26 Traditional System 4 moves
- D25 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Smyslov Variation 4 moves
- D25 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Winawer Defense 4 moves
- D26 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense 5 moves
- D26 Normal Line 6 moves
- D26 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical, Furman Variation 10 moves
- D27 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Main Line 6 moves
- D26 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Steinitz Variation, Development Variation 6 moves
- D26 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Steinitz Variation, Exchange Variation 6 moves
- D28 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Alekhine System 7 moves
- D27 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation 7 moves
- D27 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Furman Variation 7 moves
- D28 Alekhine System 7 moves
- D29 Main Line 8 moves
- D28 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical, Flohr Variation 13 moves
- D29 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Alekhine System, Smyslov Variation 10 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Accepted (D23)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-2