Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Main Line 7. Rc1 c6
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Statistics from Lichess
330,480 games: White 52.1% / Draw 6.8% / Black 41.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Bd3 Line | 175,453175K | |
| 46,12746K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Rubinstein Attack | 36,48036K | |
| 32,46932K | ||
| 16,86617K | ||
| 9,0039,003 | ||
| 4,5104,510 | ||
| 3,0173,017 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.18 The position is about equal
Best play: 8. a3 a6 9. Qc2 h6 10. Bh4 b6 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Bd3 b5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 976 | |
| 1400–1799 | 41K | |
| 1800–2199 | 230K | |
| 2200 and up | 66K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,359 |
Master games
- Moiseenko, A. – Grachev, B.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Ehlvest, J.
- Topalov, V. – Yermolinsky, A.
- Laznicka, V. – Kryvoruchko, Y.
- Karpov, A. – Andersson, U.
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: Orthodox Defense, Main Line (ECO D63, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Main Line, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 (7 moves).
In 330,480 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.1%, Black 41.1% and 6.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. Bd3, in 53% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Rubinstein Attack and Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Classical Variation. In all, 3 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 7…c6
8. Qc2 (Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Rubinstein Attack) scores best for White: 56.8%, with White winning 53.2% and Black 39.6% of 36K games. The most played, 8. Bd3, scores 55.9% in 175K games, and 8. Be2 scores lowest: 53.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. a3.
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 has lost ground since 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.016% (its peak: 0.02% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.016% | 5,558 |
| 2017 | 0.017% | 9,518 |
| 2018 | 0.02% | 15,618 |
| 2019 | 0.018% | 21,884 |
| 2020 | 0.015% | 42,866 |
| 2021 | 0.012% | 47,274 |
| 2022 | 0.011% | 43,134 |
| 2023 | 0.012% | 44,038 |
| 2024 | 0.012% | 41,655 |
| 2025 | 0.011% | 39,810 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.012% | 12,795 |
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
All 3 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Main Line (D63)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-orthodox-defense-main-line-2