Caissa Codex
D20

Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, Novikov Gambit

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, Novikov Gambit after 6. Nd2

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Statistics from Lichess

40 games: White 65.0% / Draw 5.0% / Black 30.0%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
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Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

−1.57 Black is clearly better

Best play: 6... dxe3 7. fxe3 Nf6 8. Ngf3 Nbd7 9. O-O Nb6 10. e4 Nxc4 11. Nxc4

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, Novikov Gambit (ECO D20, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. Bxc4 exd4 5. Qb3 Qe7 6. Nd2 (6 moves).

In 40 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 65.0%, Black 30.0% and 5.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…dxe3, in 83% of those games. That is too few games for the percentages to mean much.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3…e5 4. Bxc4 exd4 5. Qb3 Qe7 6. Nd2, the position after Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, Novikov Gambit (D20)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-old-variation-novikov-gambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-old-variation-novikov-gambit