Caissa Codex
D37

Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Main Line

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Main Line after 7…Bxc5

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.

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Statistics from Lichess

64,242 games: White 52.3% / Draw 8.6% / Black 39.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
22,42922K
15,88216K
14,81215K
5,9335,933
1,8001,800
1,4951,495
770770
464464

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.26 The position is about equal

Best play: 8. Qc2 Nc6 9. Rd1 Qa5 10. a3 Be7 11. Be2 Ne4 12. cxd5 Nxc3

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Main Line (ECO D37, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 (7 moves).

In 64,242 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.3%, Black 39.1% and 8.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. cxd5, in 35% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack and Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack.

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How to play against the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Main Line

8. Qc2 scores best for White: 59.6%, with White winning 56.1% and Black 37.0% of 16K games. The most played answer, 8. cxd5, scores lowest: 53.9% in 22K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 8. Qc2.

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

Variations (2)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5, the position after Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Main Line (D37)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-harrwitz-attack-main-line

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-harrwitz-attack-main-line