Caissa Codex
D41

Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, Pillsbury Variation 5…Nxd5 6. e3

Chess diagram: Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, Pillsbury Variation after 6. e3

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Statistics from Lichess

108,335 games: White 48.1% / Draw 7.7% / Black 44.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
43,31143K
36,96537K
16,69717K
4,6274,627
2,0532,053
1,0411,041
1,0241,024
926926

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.09 The position is about equal

Best play: 6... cxd4 7. exd4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Qc7 9. a4 Bd6 10. Bd2 O-O 11. Bd3

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

Overview

Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, Pillsbury Variation (ECO D41, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit in the Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e3 (6 moves).

In 108,335 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.1%, Black 44.2% and 7.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…cxd4, in 40% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, Main Line.

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How to answer 6. e3

6…Nc6 scores best for Black: 49.7%, with Black winning 45.6% and White 46.2% of 37K games. The most played, 6…cxd4, scores 48.2% in 43K games, and 6…Nxc3 scores lowest: 45.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…cxd4.

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

Variations (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…Nxd5 6. e3, the position after Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense 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: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, Pillsbury Variation (D41)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-semi-tarrasch-defense-pillsbury-variation-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-semi-tarrasch-defense-pillsbury-variation-2