D26

Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense

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Statistics from Lichess

333,622 games: White 45.8% / Draw 9.6% / Black 44.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Normal Line	260,228260K
	51,14151K
	3,9653,965
	3,7723,772
	3,5973,597
	1,6401,640
	1,6041,604
	1,3921,392

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.24 The position is about equal

Best play: 6. O-O a6 7. b3 Nbd7 8. Bb2 Be7 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Nbd2 b6

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 48% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	23K
1400–1799	81K
1800–2199	154K
2200 and up	129K
Masters, over the board	9,294

Master games

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: Classical Defense (ECO D26, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation, Traditional System, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 (5 moves).

In 333,622 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.8%, Black 44.6% and 9.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. O-O, in 78% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Normal Line and Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical, Furman Variation. In all, 12 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense

The most played answer, 6. O-O (Normal Line), also scores best for White: 51.3%, with White winning 46.3% and Black 43.7% of 260K games. Of the main answers, 6. Nc3 scores lowest: 48.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. O-O.

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: Classical Defense dipped to 0.011% of Lichess games in 2021 and has recovered since: 0.014% in 2025.

0.013%0.014%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.013%	4,498
2017	0.014%	7,979
2018	0.014%	10,732
2019	0.013%	16,355
2020	0.013%	38,540
2021	0.011%	43,651
2022	0.012%	45,418
2023	0.013%	47,897
2024	0.013%	48,229
2025	0.014%	48,719
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.014%	15,472

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)

All 12 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense (D26)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-classical-defense