Queen's Gambit Declined: Neo-Orthodox Variation 6. e3 h6
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
782,444 games: White 48.7% / Draw 7.0% / Black 44.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line | 606,768607K | |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Anti-Tartakower Variation | 117,482117K | |
| 45,87846K | ||
| 6,5616,561 | ||
| 2,1812,181 | ||
| 1,1041,104 | ||
| 1,1021,102 | ||
| 497497 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.11 The position is about equal
Best play: 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. Rc1 c6 9. Be2 Nd7 10. O-O dxc4 11. Bxc4 c5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 47% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 23K | |
| 1400–1799 | 230K | |
| 1800–2199 | 490K | |
| 2200 and up | 129K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,160 |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Topalov, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Topalov, V. – Nakamura, H.
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: Neo-Orthodox Variation (ECO D55, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation, Normal Line, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 h6 (6 moves).
In 782,444 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.7%, Black 44.3% and 7.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bh4, in 78% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Queen's Gambit Declined: Anti-Tartakower Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 6…h6
7. Bxf6 (Queen's Gambit Declined: Anti-Tartakower Variation) scores best for White: 54.0%, with White winning 50.4% and Black 42.4% of 117K games. The most played answer, 7. Bh4, scores lowest: 51.9% in 607K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. Bxf6.
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
This line peaked in 2018 at 0.037% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.029% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.03% | 10,838 |
| 2017 | 0.032% | 17,754 |
| 2018 | 0.037% | 28,764 |
| 2019 | 0.035% | 43,810 |
| 2020 | 0.034% | 98,163 |
| 2021 | 0.03% | 117,409 |
| 2022 | 0.029% | 108,435 |
| 2023 | 0.029% | 108,531 |
| 2024 | 0.029% | 103,553 |
| 2025 | 0.029% | 98,988 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.03% | 32,510 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Neo-Orthodox Variation (D55)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-neo-orthodox-variation-2