Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Rauzer Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
7,024 games: White 49.7% / Draw 5.7% / Black 44.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,1772,177 | ||
| 1,2521,252 | ||
| 1,1941,194 | ||
| 921921 | ||
| 645645 | ||
| 543543 | ||
| 104104 | ||
| 7777 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.11 The position is about equal
Best play: 7... dxc4 8. Bxc4 a6 9. a4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Nxd4 Qa5 12. Bh4
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, Rauzer Variation (ECO D60, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Qb3 (7 moves).
In 7,024 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.7%, Black 44.6% and 5.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…c6, in 31% of those games.
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How to play against the Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Rauzer Variation
7…a6 scores best for Black: 51.7%, with Black winning 48.6% and White 45.1% of 543 games. The most played answer, 7…c6, scores lowest: 44.9% in 2,177 games. Stockfish's first choice is 7…dxc4.
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Rauzer Variation (D60)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-orthodox-defense-rauzer-variation