Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Modern Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
369,458 games: White 59.5% / Draw 4.2% / Black 36.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 147,407147K | ||
| 76,57277K | ||
| 69,86670K | ||
| 33,28133K | ||
| 26,10826K | ||
| 7,3017,301 | ||
| 3,0893,089 | ||
| 2,5912,591 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 20, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.56 White is slightly better
Best play: 5. e4 Bg4 6. Be3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. Qd3 Bh5 9. O-O O-O
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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 41% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 37% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 511K | |
| 1400–1799 | 490K | |
| 1800–2199 | 149K | |
| 2200 and up | 16K | |
| Masters, over the board | 699 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Anand, V. – Morozevich, A.
- Yu Yangyi – Rapport, R.
- Beliavsky, A. G. – Morozevich, A.
- Shirov, A. – Morozevich, A.
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, Modern Gambit (ECO D07, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. Nf3 Nf6 (4 moves).
In 369,458 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 59.5%, Black 36.2% and 4.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. e4, in 40% of those games.
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, Modern Gambit
5. d5 scores best for White: 67.4%, with White winning 65.6% and Black 30.8% of 33K games. The most played, 5. e4, scores 61.2% in 147K games, and 5. e3 scores lowest: 60.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. e4.
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: Chigorin Defense, Modern Gambit has lost ground since 2016: 0.012% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.017%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.017% | 5,912 |
| 2017 | 0.013% | 7,096 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,585 |
| 2019 | 0.014% | 17,232 |
| 2020 | 0.017% | 49,970 |
| 2021 | 0.017% | 66,572 |
| 2022 | 0.015% | 57,298 |
| 2023 | 0.014% | 51,863 |
| 2024 | 0.013% | 44,841 |
| 2025 | 0.012% | 40,820 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.012% | 13,032 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Modern Gambit (D07)”. Lichess data as of 20 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-chigorin-defense-modern-gambit