Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Rubinstein Attack 8…a6 9. Qc2
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Statistics from Lichess
5,893 games: White 52.6% / Draw 6.9% / Black 40.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,7761,776 | ||
| 1,4211,421 | ||
| 1,0621,062 | ||
| 1,0161,016 | ||
| 166166 | ||
| 7373 | ||
| 5454 | ||
| 5050 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.14 The position is about equal
Best play: 9... h6 10. Bh4 Re8 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Bd3
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, Rubinstein Attack (ECO D64, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit that starts 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. a3 a6 9. Qc2.
In 5,893 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.6%, Black 40.6% and 6.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…h6, in 30% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 9. Qc2
9…dxc4 scores best for Black: 45.4%, with Black winning 41.5% and White 50.7% of 1,421 games. The most played answer, 9…h6, scores lowest: 42.5% in 1,776 games. Stockfish's first choice is 9…h6.
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, Rubinstein Attack (D64)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-orthodox-defense-rubinstein-attack-4