Queen's Gambit Declined: Traditional Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
2,045,034 games: White 49.5% / Draw 5.9% / Black 44.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,282,8971.3M | ||
| 149,183149K | ||
| 146,366146K | ||
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Vienna Variation | 124,912125K | |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Capablanca Variation | 117,050117K | |
| 89,27689K | ||
| 85,78186K | ||
| 15,71216K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.06 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... dxc4 5. e4 c5 6. Nc3 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4 8. Nxd4 h6 9. Bd2
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 53% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 55% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 264K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 177K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,266 |
Master games
- Mamedyarov, S. – Caruana, F.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Caruana, F.
- Grischuk, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Ding Liren
- Mamedyarov, S. – Giri, A.
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: Traditional Variation (ECO D30, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a declined gambit that starts 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5.
In 2,045,034 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 44.6% and 5.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Be7, in 63% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit Declined: Vienna Variation and Queen's Gambit Declined: Capablanca Variation.
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: Traditional Variation
4…c6 scores best for Black: 48.5%, with Black winning 45.6% and White 48.7% of 149K games. The most played, 4…Be7, scores 47.4% in 1.3M games, and 4…h6 scores lowest: 45.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…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
Popularity by year
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Traditional Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.097% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.069% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.079% | 28,184 |
| 2017 | 0.086% | 47,114 |
| 2018 | 0.097% | 76,345 |
| 2019 | 0.093% | 116,153 |
| 2020 | 0.086% | 252,757 |
| 2021 | 0.082% | 318,853 |
| 2022 | 0.079% | 295,498 |
| 2023 | 0.078% | 295,116 |
| 2024 | 0.075% | 267,367 |
| 2025 | 0.069% | 239,756 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.068% | 74,942 |
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)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Declined: Traditional Variation (D30)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-declined-traditional-variation