Queen's Pawn Game 1. d4 d6
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Statistics from Lichess
23,375,505 games: White 48.9% / Draw 5.1% / Black 46.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Old Indian Defense | 9,076,1769.1M | |
| 4,279,2654.3M | ||
| Pirc Defense | 3,304,0023.3M | |
| 3,110,5903.1M | ||
| 1,319,2301.3M | ||
| 943,074943K | ||
| 398,759399K | ||
| 268,396268K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.55 White is slightly better
Best play: 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Rg1 g6 6. Be3 Bg7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 10.5M | |
| 1400–1799 | 14.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 13.1M | |
| 2200 and up | 2.5M | |
| Masters, over the board | 28K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Ding Liren – Caruana, F.
- Nakamura, H. – Vachier Lagrave, 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 Pawn Game (ECO A41, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game, reached after 1. d4 d6 (1 move).
In 23,375,505 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.9%, Black 46.0% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 2. c4, in 39% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Old Indian Defense and Wade Defense. In all, 7 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 answer 1…d6
2. Nf3 scores best for White: 52.7%, with White winning 49.9% and Black 44.5% of 4.3M games. The most played, 2. c4, scores 50.9% in 9.1M games, and 2. e3 scores lowest: 49.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 2. e4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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
This line has stayed between 0.83% and 0.96% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.96% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.86% | 306,972 |
| 2017 | 0.9% | 496,757 |
| 2018 | 0.92% | 725,877 |
| 2019 | 0.88% | 1,102,126 |
| 2020 | 0.86% | 2,507,642 |
| 2021 | 0.83% | 3,262,279 |
| 2022 | 0.9% | 3,394,477 |
| 2023 | 0.91% | 3,423,394 |
| 2024 | 0.92% | 3,316,216 |
| 2025 | 0.96% | 3,326,686 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 1.0% | 1,102,357 |
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 (3)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game (A41)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-2