Caissa Codex
D27

Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Main Line

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Main Line after 6…a6

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Statistics from Lichess

184,647 games: White 45.2% / Draw 10.7% / Black 44.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation 53,39353K
33,30933K
27,30727K
Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Alekhine System 24,33224K
10,93111K
9,4879,487
8,7918,791
4,0634,063

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

Engine evaluation

+0.20 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. b3 Nbd7 8. Bb2 Be7 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bd3 b6

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 1,273
1400–1799 11K
1800–2199 71K
2200 and up 106K
Masters, over the board 10K

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, Main Line (ECO D27, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Normal Line, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 (6 moves).

In 184,647 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.2%, Black 44.2% and 10.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. a4, in 29% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation and Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Alekhine System. In all, 7 named lines continue from it.

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

7. b3 scores best for White: 54.9%, with White winning 48.8% and Black 39.0% of 11K games. The most played, 7. a4, scores 48.9% in 53K games, and 7. Nc3 scores lowest: 47.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. b3.

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, Main Line has gained ground since 2016: 0.0085% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0061%.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.0061%2,188
20170.0071%3,901
20180.0067%5,292
20190.0061%7,641
20200.0067%19,535
20210.0059%23,177
20220.0067%25,296
20230.0072%27,136
20240.0078%27,854
20250.0085%29,465
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.0087%9,555

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)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6…a6, the position after Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Normal Line also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 7 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Main Line (D27)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-classical-defense-main-line

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-classical-defense-main-line