Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
200,498 games: White 52.9% / Draw 5.2% / Black 41.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 144,003144K | ||
| 31,57632K | ||
| 18,85919K | ||
| 2,6662,666 | ||
| 1,5481,548 | ||
| 1,1131,113 | ||
| 521521 | ||
| 3636 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.57 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. d5 e6 5. Bxc4 Nf6 6. Nc3 exd5 7. exd5 a6 8. Qe2+ Be7
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 43% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 38% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 127K | |
| 1400–1799 | 173K | |
| 1800–2199 | 98K | |
| 2200 and up | 16K | |
| Masters, over the board | 541 |
Master games
- Morozevich, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Wang Yue – Ivanchuk, V.
- Sargissian, G. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Gelfand, B. – Anand, V.
- Shirov, A. – Anand, V.
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: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense (ECO D20, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Saduleto Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 c5 (3 moves).
In 200,498 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.9%, Black 41.9% and 5.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. d5, in 72% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense, Yefimov Gambit and Queen's Gambit Accepted: Linares 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 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense
The most played answer, 4. d5, also scores best for White: 57.3%, with White winning 54.8% and Black 40.3% of 144K games. Of the main answers, 4. Bxc4 scores lowest: 47.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. d5.
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 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense has stayed between 0.0072% and 0.0082% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.0073% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0075% | 2,685 |
| 2017 | 0.0072% | 3,946 |
| 2018 | 0.0075% | 5,892 |
| 2019 | 0.0077% | 9,642 |
| 2020 | 0.0078% | 22,947 |
| 2021 | 0.008% | 31,121 |
| 2022 | 0.0082% | 30,735 |
| 2023 | 0.0081% | 30,312 |
| 2024 | 0.0075% | 26,886 |
| 2025 | 0.0073% | 25,253 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0072% | 7,899 |
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 (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense (D20)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-central-variation-rubinstein-defense