D08

Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Tartakower Defense

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

239,878 games: White 52.2% / Draw 4.3% / Black 43.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	104,877105K
	47,07947K
	18,48718K
	17,16717K
	14,94515K
	12,80113K
	11,73712K
	4,3404,340

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+1.66 White is clearly better

Even so, Black scores 45.7% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.

Best play: 5. e3 Nc6 6. Bd3 Nge7 7. O-O Ng6 8. Be4 Be7 9. exd4 cxd4

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 Black: Black scores 47% under 1400, 42% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	30K
1400–1799	119K
1800–2199	149K
2200 and up	15K
Masters, over the board	3

Master games

Gonzalez Vidal, Y. – Alvarez Pedraza, A. 1–0, 2013
Gusev, A. – Ponomarenko, V. 1–0, 2016
Heinig, W. – Starck, B. 1–0, 1978

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, Tartakower Defense (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 c5 (4 moves).

In 239,878 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.2%, Black 43.5% and 4.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. e3, in 44% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake

What would you like to send? A description of this line A mistake on this page (moves, name, statistics…)

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Your name (optional) Your email (optional, not published)

Description

How to play against the Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Tartakower Defense

The most played answer, 5. e3, also scores best for White: 56.5%, with White winning 54.3% and Black 41.3% of 105K games. Of the main answers, 5. Bg5 scores lowest: 49.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. e3.

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 Declined: Albin Countergambit, Tartakower Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.012% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0087% in 2025.

0.01%0.0087%0.012%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.01%	3,695
2017	0.011%	6,301
2018	0.012%	9,415
2019	0.011%	13,731
2020	0.0094%	27,552
2021	0.009%	35,387
2022	0.0087%	32,751
2023	0.0093%	35,109
2024	0.0089%	31,830
2025	0.0087%	30,253
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0085%	9,371

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: Albin Countergambit, Tartakower Defense (D08)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-albin-countergambit-tartakower-defense