Caissa Codex
D68

Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Classical Variation 12…e5 13. Qb1

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Classical Variation after 13. Qb1

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Statistics from Lichess

114 games: White 48.2% / Draw 14.9% / Black 36.8%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
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Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 22, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.12 The position is about equal

Best play: 13... exd4 14. exd4 Qd6 15. Re3 Nb6 16. Bb3 Nd5 17. Ng5 Qg6 18. Qxg6

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Classical Variation (ECO D68, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. O-O Nxc3 12. Rxc3 e5 13. Qb1 (13 moves).

In 114 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.2%, Black 36.8% and 14.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 13…exd4, in 53% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. O-O Nxc3 12. Rxc3 e5 13. Qb1, the position after Queen's Gambit Declined also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Classical Variation (D68)”. Lichess data as of 22 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-orthodox-defense-classical-variation-3

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-orthodox-defense-classical-variation-3