Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
31,026,954 games: White 51.1% / Draw 5.5% / Black 43.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense | 18,241,12918.2M | |
| Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order | 4,108,6104.1M | |
| 2,438,1222.4M | ||
| Tarrasch Defense | 1,907,5361.9M | |
| 1,633,3141.6M | ||
| 730,310730K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Janowski Variation | 581,141581K | |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Charousek Variation | 556,545557K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.18 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 h6 8. Bh4
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 55% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 4.5M | |
| 1400–1799 | 16.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 18.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 2.9M | |
| Masters, over the board | 52K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Kramnik, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation (ECO D31, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 (3 moves).
In 31,026,954 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.1%, Black 43.5% and 5.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Nf6, in 59% of those games.
It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense and Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order. In all, 89 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 play against the Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation
3…c5 (Tarrasch Defense) scores best for Black: 48.5%, with Black winning 45.7% and White 48.7% of 1.9M games. The most played, 3…Nf6, scores 46.4% in 18.2M games, and 3…dxc4 scores lowest: 41.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…Nf6.
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: Queen's Knight Variation peaked in 2018 at 1.4% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 1.1% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.3% | 460,318 |
| 2017 | 1.4% | 747,885 |
| 2018 | 1.4% | 1,121,719 |
| 2019 | 1.4% | 1,684,214 |
| 2020 | 1.3% | 3,695,314 |
| 2021 | 1.2% | 4,621,726 |
| 2022 | 1.2% | 4,420,681 |
| 2023 | 1.2% | 4,440,075 |
| 2024 | 1.1% | 4,102,075 |
| 2025 | 1.1% | 3,935,219 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 1.1% | 1,250,805 |
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 (5)
Transpositions
All 89 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
Loading sub-variations…
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation (D31)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-queens-knight-variation