Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
2,434,111 games: White 55.8% / Draw 5.2% / Black 39.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit Accepted | 831,806832K | |
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Rosenthal Variation | 363,989364K | |
| 194,392194K | ||
| 157,566158K | ||
| 155,800156K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Slav Gambit | 154,545155K | |
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Gunsberg Defense | 149,232149K | |
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Alekhine Defense | 115,170115K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.27 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... a6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 Nf6 6. O-O c5 7. b3 b5 8. Be2
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 worse this line does for White: White scores 59% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.8M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 308K | |
| Masters, over the board | 13K |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation (ECO D21, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Accepted, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 (3 moves).
In 2,434,111 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.8%, Black 39.0% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Nf6, in 34% of those games.
It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Accepted and Queen's Gambit Accepted: Rosenthal Variation. In all, 31 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 play against the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation
3…c5 (Queen's Gambit Accepted: Gunsberg Defense) scores best for Black: 44.8%, with Black winning 41.6% and White 51.9% of 149K games. The most played, 3…Nf6, scores 43.4% in 832K games, and 3…Nc6 scores lowest: 36.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…a6.
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
Popularity by year
The Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.093% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.14%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.14% | 48,568 |
| 2017 | 0.12% | 66,695 |
| 2018 | 0.11% | 85,713 |
| 2019 | 0.1% | 128,526 |
| 2020 | 0.096% | 281,682 |
| 2021 | 0.09% | 353,899 |
| 2022 | 0.091% | 342,854 |
| 2023 | 0.089% | 334,783 |
| 2024 | 0.088% | 314,803 |
| 2025 | 0.093% | 321,186 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.097% | 105,968 |
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 (6)
Transpositions
All 31 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- D23 Queen's Gambit Accepted 3 moves
- D22 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Alekhine Defense 3 moves
- D21 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Godes Variation 3 moves
- D21 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Gunsberg Defense 3 moves
- D21 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Rosenthal Variation 3 moves
- D21 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Slav Gambit 3 moves
- D22 Alatortsev Variation 6 moves
- D21 Borisenko-Furman Variation 4 moves
- D22 Haberditz Variation 4 moves
- 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: Normal Variation (D21)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-normal-variation