D37

Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack 4…Be7 5. Bf4

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack after 5. Bf4

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

Statistics from Lichess

1,477,020 games: White 51.0% / Draw 6.2% / Black 42.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	963,213963K
	170,478170K
	169,524170K
	44,25744K
	32,98633K
	31,97032K
	16,80217K
	13,92014K

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

Engine evaluation

+0.27 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... O-O 6. e3 b6 7. Be2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bb7 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Qe2

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 White: White scores 52% under 1400, 56% at 2200 and up and 60% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	36K
1400–1799	360K
1800–2199	910K
2200 and up	304K
Masters, over the board	12K

Master games

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: Harrwitz Attack (ECO D37, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 (5 moves).

In 1,477,020 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.0%, Black 42.8% and 6.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…O-O, in 65% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense and Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Main Line. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.

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? A description of this line A mistake on this page (moves, name, statistics…)

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

Your name (optional) Your email (optional, not published)

Description

How to answer 5. Bf4

The most played answer, 5…O-O, also scores best for Black: 46.6%, with Black winning 43.4% and White 50.2% of 963K games. Of the main answers, 5…c6 scores lowest: 43.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…O-O.

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

This line peaked in 2018 at 0.07% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.054% in 2025.

0.053%0.054%0.07%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.053%	18,975
2017	0.059%	32,301
2018	0.07%	55,251
2019	0.069%	86,240
2020	0.064%	187,893
2021	0.057%	221,172
2022	0.055%	208,065
2023	0.054%	203,037
2024	0.053%	188,504
2025	0.054%	186,972
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.058%	63,059

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 (2)

All 4 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack (D37)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-harrwitz-attack-2