Queen's Pawn Game 1. d4 d5
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Statistics from Lichess
275,411,122 games: White 51.3% / Draw 5.2% / Black 43.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit | 120,463,648120.5M | |
| Zukertort Variation | 50,879,80650.9M | |
| Accelerated London System | 46,480,62446.5M | |
| 21,218,39121.2M | ||
| Chigorin Variation | 13,988,80514M | |
| Blackmar-Diemer Gambit | 6,583,4646.6M | |
| Levitsky Attack | 5,498,9705.5M | |
| 3,138,3493.1M |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.19 The position is about equal
Best play: 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6
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 47% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 164.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 232.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 139M | |
| 2200 and up | 17M | |
| Masters, over the board | 266K |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Carlsen, M. – Topalov, V.
- Grischuk, A. – 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 Pawn Game (ECO D00, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a chess opening that starts 1. d4 d5.
In 275,411,122 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.3%, Black 43.5% and 5.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 2. c4, in 44% of those games.
It branches into 10 named variations; the most played are Queen's Gambit and Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation. In all, 393 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…d5
The most played answer, 2. c4 (Queen's Gambit), also scores best for White: 54.5%, with White winning 51.9% and Black 42.9% of 120.5M games. Of the main answers, 2. e3 scores lowest: 52.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2. c4.
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 holds steady at about 10.7% of Lichess games a year since 2016.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10.8% | 3,860,328 |
| 2017 | 10.5% | 5,798,958 |
| 2018 | 10.4% | 8,177,275 |
| 2019 | 10.3% | 12,815,295 |
| 2020 | 10.5% | 30,797,314 |
| 2021 | 10.6% | 41,547,459 |
| 2022 | 10.8% | 40,398,542 |
| 2023 | 10.7% | 40,373,280 |
| 2024 | 10.6% | 38,174,458 |
| 2025 | 10.7% | 37,083,688 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 10.7% | 11,753,753 |
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 (10)
All 393 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
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Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game (D00)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-3