Queen's Gambit Declined: Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
1,070,915 games: White 48.2% / Draw 7.2% / Black 44.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Tartakower Defense | 348,125348K | |
| 166,303166K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Lasker Defense | 134,599135K | |
| 118,375118K | ||
| 112,057112K | ||
| 69,83870K | ||
| 37,16737K | ||
| 34,43034K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.05 The position is about equal
Best play: 7... b6 8. Qb3 Bb7 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Be2 c6 12. O-O
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% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 55% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 33K | |
| 1400–1799 | 335K | |
| 1800–2199 | 659K | |
| 2200 and up | 177K | |
| Masters, over the board | 8,442 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Kramnik, V.
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, Main Line (ECO D55, 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 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 (7 moves).
In 1,070,915 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.2%, Black 44.6% and 7.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…b6, in 33% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Declined: Tartakower Defense and Queen's Gambit Declined: Lasker Defense, Teichmann 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 play against the Queen's Gambit Declined: Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line
The most played answer, 7…b6 (Queen's Gambit Declined: Tartakower Defense), also scores best for Black: 51.1%, with Black winning 47.2% and White 44.9% of 348K games. Of the main answers, 7…c6 scores lowest: 45.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…b6.
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
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line peaked in 2018 at 0.049% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.04% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.039% | 13,812 |
| 2017 | 0.042% | 22,916 |
| 2018 | 0.049% | 38,133 |
| 2019 | 0.047% | 58,654 |
| 2020 | 0.045% | 130,853 |
| 2021 | 0.041% | 158,939 |
| 2022 | 0.039% | 148,254 |
| 2023 | 0.04% | 150,711 |
| 2024 | 0.041% | 145,727 |
| 2025 | 0.04% | 139,251 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.041% | 45,387 |
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)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line (D55)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-neo-orthodox-variation-main-line