Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation, Traditional System
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Statistics from Lichess
704,299 games: White 51.7% / Draw 6.7% / Black 41.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 652,459652K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Vienna Variation, Quiet Variation | 40,17140K | |
| 2,4292,429 | ||
| 1,9581,958 | ||
| 1,8051,805 | ||
| 1,3131,313 | ||
| 1,1091,109 | ||
| 942942 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. Bxc4 a6 6. O-O c5 7. b3 Nbd7 8. Bb2 Be7 9. dxc5 Bxc5
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, 48% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 170K | |
| 1400–1799 | 411K | |
| 1800–2199 | 333K | |
| 2200 and up | 139K | |
| Masters, over the board | 9,024 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- So, W. – Caruana, F.
- Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.
- Nakamura, H. – Caruana, F.
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: Normal Variation, Traditional System (ECO D26, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 (4 moves).
In 704,299 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.7%, Black 41.5% and 6.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Bxc4, in 93% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense. In all, 13 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, Traditional System
5. Nc3 (Queen's Gambit Declined: Vienna Variation, Quiet Variation) scores best for White: 55.7%, with White winning 53.1% and Black 41.7% of 40K games. The most played answer, 5. Bxc4, scores lowest: 55.1% in 652K games. Stockfish's first choice is 5. Bxc4.
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: Normal Variation, Traditional System has stayed between 0.025% and 0.03% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.027% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.03% | 10,660 |
| 2017 | 0.03% | 16,759 |
| 2018 | 0.029% | 22,747 |
| 2019 | 0.029% | 35,793 |
| 2020 | 0.029% | 84,701 |
| 2021 | 0.025% | 99,377 |
| 2022 | 0.027% | 100,856 |
| 2023 | 0.027% | 100,364 |
| 2024 | 0.027% | 96,267 |
| 2025 | 0.027% | 94,226 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.027% | 29,735 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
All 13 named lines that continue from here
- 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, Traditional System (D26)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-normal-variation-traditional-system