Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Modern Line
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Statistics from Lichess
200,437 games: White 53.1% / Draw 5.4% / Black 41.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 70,82971K | ||
| 50,46250K | ||
| 28,74329K | ||
| 17,24117K | ||
| 13,72914K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Janowski Variation | 7,3597,359 | |
| 3,5293,529 | ||
| 3,4763,476 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.67 White is slightly better
Best play: 5... Nge7 6. Nb3 Ng6 7. Nbxd4 Ngxe5 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. e3 Bc5 10. Bd2
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 58% under 1400, 56% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7,507 | |
| 1400–1799 | 70K | |
| 1800–2199 | 116K | |
| 2200 and up | 36K | |
| Masters, over the board | 156 |
Master games
- Grischuk, A. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Grischuk, A. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Van Wely, L. – Morozevich, A.
- Sokolov, I. – Morozevich, A.
- Ivanisevic, I. – Khenkin, I.
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 Declined: Albin Countergambit, Modern Line (ECO D08, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Normal Line, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 (5 moves).
In 200,437 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.1%, Black 41.5% and 5.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bg4, in 35% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Janowski Variation and Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Balogh Variation.
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 Declined: Albin Countergambit, Modern Line
5…Nge7 scores best for Black: 45.5%, with Black winning 42.1% and White 51.1% of 50K games. The most played, 5…Bg4, scores 45.2% in 71K games, and 5…Bb4 scores lowest: 40.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Nge7.
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 Declined: Albin Countergambit, Modern Line peaked in 2023 at 0.0089% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0072% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0067% | 2,395 |
| 2017 | 0.0072% | 3,951 |
| 2018 | 0.0081% | 6,342 |
| 2019 | 0.0071% | 8,917 |
| 2020 | 0.007% | 20,567 |
| 2021 | 0.0075% | 29,338 |
| 2022 | 0.0081% | 30,328 |
| 2023 | 0.0089% | 33,338 |
| 2024 | 0.008% | 28,700 |
| 2025 | 0.0072% | 25,094 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0075% | 8,256 |
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 (3)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Modern Line (D08)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-albin-countergambit-modern-line