Caissa Codex
D27

Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation after 7. a4

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Statistics from Lichess

80,761 games: White 44.0% / Draw 9.7% / Black 46.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
59,14659K
7,6657,665
4,5704,570
4,5374,537
2,8092,809
1,6311,631
195195
116116

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.15 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... cxd4 8. exd4 Nc6 9. Nc3 Be7 10. Be3 O-O 11. Qe2 Nb4 12. Ne5

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation (ECO D27, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Main Line, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. a4 (7 moves).

In 80,761 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.0%, Black 46.2% and 9.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Nc6, in 73% of those games.

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

The most played answer, 7…Nc6, also scores best for Black: 51.7%, with Black winning 46.6% and White 43.2% of 59K games. Of the main answers, 7…Be7 scores lowest: 48.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 7…cxd4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 7. a4, the position after Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Main Line also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation (D27)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-classical-defense-rubinstein-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-classical-defense-rubinstein-variation