Caissa Codex
D52

Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense 6…Qa5 7. cxd5

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense after 7. cxd5

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Statistics from Lichess

76,149 games: White 50.0% / Draw 5.8% / Black 44.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Yugoslav Variation 41,37041K
28,68329K
3,2033,203
2,2292,229
626626
1313
77
55

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.26 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... Nxd5 8. Qd2 Bb4 9. Rc1 h6 10. Bh4 b6 11. a3 Bxc3 12. bxc3

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense (ECO D52, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 7. cxd5 (7 moves).

In 76,149 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.0%, Black 44.2% and 5.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Nxd5, in 54% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation.

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How to answer 7. cxd5

The most played answer, 7…Nxd5 (Yugoslav Variation), also scores best for Black: 47.5%, with Black winning 44.6% and White 49.5% of 41K games. Of the main answers, 7…exd5 scores lowest: 46.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…Nxd5.

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

Variations (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 7. cxd5, the position after Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense (D52)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-cambridge-springs-defense-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-cambridge-springs-defense-2