Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation, Knight Defense 4…Nbd7 5. e3
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Statistics from Lichess
418,962 games: White 49.2% / Draw 6.2% / Black 44.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 199,566200K | ||
| 139,039139K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Manhattan Variation | 32,87533K | |
| 21,86322K | ||
| 9,8359,835 | ||
| 4,8494,849 | ||
| 4,5024,502 | ||
| 4,4934,493 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.16 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qc2 c5 8. cxd5 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nxd5 10. Bxe7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 53% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 59% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 17K | |
| 1400–1799 | 141K | |
| 1800–2199 | 272K | |
| 2200 and up | 49K | |
| Masters, over the board | 940 |
Master games
- Nakamura, H. – Aronian, L.
- Nakamura, H. – Aronian, L.
- Jakovenko, D. – Lupulescu, C.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Ivanisevic, I.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Grachev, B.
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: Modern Variation, Knight Defense (ECO D51, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation, Knight Defense, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 (5 moves).
In 418,962 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 44.7% and 6.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…c6, in 48% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is Queen's Gambit Declined: Manhattan Variation. In all, 5 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 5. e3
The most played answer, 5…c6, also scores best for Black: 49.4%, with Black winning 46.3% and White 47.5% of 200K games. Of the main answers, 5…h6 scores lowest: 44.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…Be7.
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 has lost ground since 2016: 0.014% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.02% (its peak: 0.022% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.02% | 7,017 |
| 2017 | 0.021% | 11,692 |
| 2018 | 0.022% | 17,663 |
| 2019 | 0.019% | 24,231 |
| 2020 | 0.019% | 54,831 |
| 2021 | 0.016% | 63,403 |
| 2022 | 0.015% | 56,799 |
| 2023 | 0.015% | 57,481 |
| 2024 | 0.015% | 53,849 |
| 2025 | 0.014% | 48,736 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.014% | 15,241 |
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 5 named lines that continue from here
- D51 Queen's Gambit Declined: Manhattan Variation 5 moves
- D51 Knight Defense 5 moves
- D52 Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Argentine Variation 9 moves
- D52 Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Capablanca Variation 7 moves
- D51 Queen's Gambit Declined: Capablanca Variation, Anti-Cambridge Springs Variation 6 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation, Knight Defense (D51)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-modern-variation-knight-defense-2