Queen's Gambit Declined 4…Be7 5. Nf3
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Statistics from Lichess
4,238,994 games: White 49.2% / Draw 6.3% / Black 44.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,221,7332.2M | ||
| 678,490678K | ||
| 363,943364K | ||
| 346,323346K | ||
| 128,003128K | ||
| 122,984123K | ||
| 119,829120K | ||
| 101,114101K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.11 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 Qxd1+ 9. Rxd1 Nbd7 10. Bxc4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 53% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 255K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.7M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 546K | |
| Masters, over the board | 15K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
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 Declined (ECO D53, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nf3 (5 moves).
In 4,238,994 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 44.5% and 6.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…O-O, in 52% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 5. Nf3
The most played answer, 5…O-O, also scores best for Black: 48.2%, with Black winning 45.0% and White 48.6% of 2.2M games. Of the main answers, 5…c6 scores lowest: 46.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…h6.
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
This line peaked in 2018 at 0.19% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.15% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.15% | 54,602 |
| 2017 | 0.17% | 93,201 |
| 2018 | 0.19% | 150,930 |
| 2019 | 0.19% | 233,041 |
| 2020 | 0.18% | 528,070 |
| 2021 | 0.17% | 658,828 |
| 2022 | 0.16% | 610,376 |
| 2023 | 0.16% | 603,963 |
| 2024 | 0.15% | 554,400 |
| 2025 | 0.15% | 517,044 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.15% | 166,031 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined (D53)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-3