Caissa Codex
D37

Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation after 6. Qc2

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Statistics from Lichess

61,050 games: White 50.3% / Draw 5.0% / Black 44.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
17,63318K
10,77711K
8,4428,442
7,8447,844
5,0545,054
3,9903,990
3,4973,497
2,3092,309

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.06 The position is about equal

Best play: 6... dxc4 7. e3 h6 8. Bh4 Nd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Bxc4 Nxc3 11. Qxc3

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation (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. Bg5 O-O 6. Qc2 (6 moves).

In 61,050 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.3%, Black 44.8% and 5.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…h6, in 29% of those games.

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How to play against the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation

6…c5 scores best for Black: 50.5%, with Black winning 47.9% and White 46.9% of 5,054 games. The most played, 6…h6, scores 46.4% in 18K games, and 6…c6 scores lowest: 45.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…dxc4.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. Qc2, the position after Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation (D37)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-miles-variation

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