Caissa Codex
D35

Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Carlsen Variation

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Carlsen Variation after 7…Bg4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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

Statistics from Lichess

3,094 games: White 49.9% / Draw 7.0% / Black 43.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
1,2831,283
764764
542542
290290
158158
2626
1313
77

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

Engine evaluation

+0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 8. Qb3 Nbd7 9. Bg3 O-O 10. Bd3 Nb6 11. h3 Be6 12. Qc2 c5

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Carlsen Variation (ECO D35, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Positional Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Bg4 (7 moves).

In 3,094 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.9%, Black 43.1% and 7.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. Qb3, in 41% 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?

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

How to play against the Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Carlsen Variation

8. Be2 scores best for White: 60.3%, with White winning 55.2% and Black 34.5% of 290 games. The most played, 8. Qb3, scores 52.2% in 1,283 games, and 8. f3 scores lowest: 52.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. Qb3.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Bg4, the position after Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Positional Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Carlsen Variation (D35)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-exchange-variation-carlsen-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-exchange-variation-carlsen-variation