Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Orthodox Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
447,690 games: White 52.6% / Draw 5.7% / Black 41.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 161,753162K | ||
| 56,70757K | ||
| 51,85752K | ||
| 44,75545K | ||
| 44,53745K | ||
| 32,90533K | ||
| 26,23126K | ||
| 11,16611K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.42 White is slightly better
Best play: 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. Rd1 b6 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. O-O Rc8
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 worse this line does for Black: Black scores 45% under 1400, 41% at 2200 and up and 31% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 14K | |
| 1400–1799 | 127K | |
| 1800–2199 | 296K | |
| 2200 and up | 58K | |
| Masters, over the board | 550 |
Master games
- Bareev, E. – Vaganian, R. A.
- Topalov, V. – Campora, D. H.
- Gelfand, B. – Azmaiparashvili, Z.
- Beliavsky, A. G. – Vaganian, R. A.
- Dreev, A. – Asrian, K.
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, Orthodox Defense (ECO D37, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c6 (6 moves).
In 447,690 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.6%, Black 41.7% and 5.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bd3, in 36% 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: Harrwitz Attack, Orthodox Defense
7. c5 scores best for White: 59.2%, with White winning 56.4% and Black 38.0% of 45K games. The most played, 7. Bd3, scores 54.5% in 162K games, and 7. cxd5 scores lowest: 51.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. 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
Popularity by year
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Orthodox Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.022% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.016% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.016% | 5,828 |
| 2017 | 0.019% | 10,366 |
| 2018 | 0.022% | 17,060 |
| 2019 | 0.021% | 26,014 |
| 2020 | 0.02% | 57,374 |
| 2021 | 0.017% | 65,423 |
| 2022 | 0.017% | 62,166 |
| 2023 | 0.017% | 62,804 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 57,756 |
| 2025 | 0.016% | 56,581 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,461 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Orthodox Defense (D37)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-harrwitz-attack-orthodox-defense