Caissa Codex
D07

Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Main Line, Alekhine Variation

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Main Line, Alekhine Variation after 4. Qa4

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Statistics from Lichess

3,560 games: White 53.4% / Draw 7.0% / Black 39.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2,7622,762
262262
218218
186186
7272
2525
1010
77

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.40 White is slightly better

Best play: 4... Nf6 5. e3 Bxf3 6. gxf3 e6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Bd2 O-O 9. a3

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Main Line, Alekhine Variation (ECO D07, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Main Line, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Qa4 (4 moves).

In 3,560 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.4%, Black 39.6% and 7.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bxf3, in 78% of those games.

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How to play against the Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Main Line, Alekhine Variation

4…dxc4 scores best for Black: 47.3%, with Black winning 44.7% and White 50.0% of 262 games. The most played, 4…Bxf3, scores 43.5% in 2,762 games, and 4…e6 scores lowest: 33.0%. 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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Main Line, Alekhine Variation (D07)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-chigorin-defense-main-line-alekhine-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-chigorin-defense-main-line-alekhine-variation