Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit
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Statistics from Lichess
3,357,928 games: White 47.8% / Draw 5.1% / Black 47.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,120,0672.1M | ||
| 566,512567K | ||
| 329,812330K | ||
| Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit Accepted | 185,423185K | |
| 65,48565K | ||
| Morris Countergambit | 32,50433K | |
| 28,58229K | ||
| 15,25615K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 3. dxc5 Nc6 4. e4 e6 5. exd5 exd5 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Nb5 Bxc5
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 49% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 2.4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.8M | |
| 2200 and up | 328K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,084 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – So, W.
- So, W. – Kramnik, V.
- Nakamura, H. – Kramnik, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Topalov, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Korobov, 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 Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit (ECO D00, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a gambit in the Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c5 (2 moves).
In 3,357,928 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.8%, Black 47.1% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. e3, in 63% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit Accepted and Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit, Morris Countergambit. In all, 3 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 Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit
The most played answer, 3. e3, also scores best for White: 51.2%, with White winning 48.5% and Black 46.2% of 2.1M games. Of the main answers, 3. dxc5 scores lowest: 45.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. dxc5.
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
The Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit is played more than three times as often as in 2016: 0.15% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.038%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.038% | 13,699 |
| 2017 | 0.063% | 34,450 |
| 2018 | 0.084% | 65,829 |
| 2019 | 0.091% | 113,660 |
| 2020 | 0.11% | 316,636 |
| 2021 | 0.13% | 519,692 |
| 2022 | 0.14% | 524,089 |
| 2023 | 0.14% | 542,685 |
| 2024 | 0.14% | 509,765 |
| 2025 | 0.15% | 506,502 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.15% | 163,454 |
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 Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit (D00)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-accelerated-london-system-steinitz-countergambit