Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
748,359 games: White 57.5% / Draw 4.2% / Black 38.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 330,577331K | ||
| 133,187133K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Modern Gambit | 128,248128K | |
| 47,17447K | ||
| 36,25036K | ||
| 32,95633K | ||
| 9,1869,186 | ||
| 5,6925,692 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.49 White is slightly better
Best play: 4... Nf6 5. e4 Bg4 6. Be3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. Qd3 Bh5 9. O-O
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 59% under 1400, 58% at 2200 and up and 66% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 709K | |
| 1400–1799 | 912K | |
| 1800–2199 | 306K | |
| 2200 and up | 13K | |
| Masters, over the board | 532 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Anand, V. – Morozevich, A.
- Beliavsky, A. G. – Morozevich, A.
- Shirov, A. – Morozevich, A.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Arencibia Rodriguez, W.
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: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation (ECO D07, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. Nf3 (4 moves).
In 748,359 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 57.5%, Black 38.3% and 4.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bg4, in 44% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Modern Gambit.
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: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation
The most played answer, 4…Bg4, also scores best for Black: 43.8%, with Black winning 41.6% and White 54.0% of 331K games. Of the main answers, 4…Bf5 scores lowest: 34.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nf6.
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: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.024% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.032%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.032% | 11,371 |
| 2017 | 0.026% | 14,059 |
| 2018 | 0.024% | 18,504 |
| 2019 | 0.028% | 35,057 |
| 2020 | 0.032% | 94,812 |
| 2021 | 0.034% | 131,907 |
| 2022 | 0.032% | 119,514 |
| 2023 | 0.029% | 108,878 |
| 2024 | 0.026% | 93,862 |
| 2025 | 0.024% | 84,156 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.024% | 25,778 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation (D07)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-chigorin-defense-janowski-variation