Queen's Pawn Game: Anglo-Slav Opening
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Statistics from Lichess
2,150,255 games: White 48.8% / Draw 4.5% / Black 46.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,478,9151.5M | ||
| 285,751286K | ||
| 238,462238K | ||
| 68,43368K | ||
| 29,74430K | ||
| 16,80217K | ||
| 8,7698,769 | ||
| 4,6504,650 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.66 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. e4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Be2 O-O 7. h3 e5
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 46% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 221K | |
| 1400–1799 | 972K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 187K | |
| Masters, over the board | 127 |
Master games
- So, W. – Firouzja, A.
- Polgar, Z. – Larsen, B.
- Atalik, S. – Tosic, M.
- Bischoff, K. – Lobron, E.
- Gleizerov, E. – Bozic, 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: Anglo-Slav Opening (ECO A40, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game, reached after 1. d4 c6 2. c4 d6 (2 moves).
In 2,150,255 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.8%, Black 46.7% and 4.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Nc3, in 69% of those games.
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: Anglo-Slav Opening
3. Nf3 scores best for White: 51.4%, with White winning 49.0% and Black 46.1% of 286K games. The most played, 3. Nc3, scores 51.1% in 1.5M games, and 3. e4 scores lowest: 50.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. 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
The Queen's Pawn Game: Anglo-Slav Opening peaked in 2018 at 0.11% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.081% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.071% | 25,468 |
| 2017 | 0.084% | 46,337 |
| 2018 | 0.11% | 88,027 |
| 2019 | 0.1% | 129,651 |
| 2020 | 0.082% | 240,187 |
| 2021 | 0.075% | 293,365 |
| 2022 | 0.083% | 313,505 |
| 2023 | 0.083% | 311,154 |
| 2024 | 0.082% | 293,086 |
| 2025 | 0.081% | 282,069 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.085% | 93,185 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game: Anglo-Slav Opening (A40)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-anglo-slav-opening