Caissa Codex
D00

Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation

Chess diagram: Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation after 2. Nc3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

14,957,938 games: White 50.0% / Draw 4.7% / Black 45.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation 6,497,3396.5M
3,262,0623.3M
1,838,0681.8M
Alburt Defense 1,225,7721.2M
985,995986K
Irish Gambit 549,568550K
145,713146K
Shaviliuk Gambit 99,07499K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 22, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.05 The position is about equal

Best play: 2... Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. Nb5 Na6 5. e3 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. h3

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 51% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 50% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 20.4M
1400–1799 16.1M
1800–2199 6.9M
2200 and up 904K
Masters, over the board 3,087

Master games

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: Chigorin Variation (ECO D00, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 (2 moves).

In 14,957,938 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.0%, Black 45.3% and 4.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…Nf6, in 43% of those games.

It branches into 7 named variations; the most played are Rapport-Jobava System and Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation, Alburt Defense. In all, 10 named lines continue from it.

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How to play against the Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation

2…Bf5 (Alburt Defense) scores best for Black: 48.8%, with Black winning 46.6% and White 48.9% of 1.2M games. The most played, 2…Nf6, scores 47.7% in 6.5M games, and 2…Nc6 scores lowest: 46.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…Nf6.

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 Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.74% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.54%.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.54%191,283
20170.41%228,087
20180.38%298,448
20190.44%544,989
20200.48%1,409,409
20210.52%2,017,934
20220.53%1,998,525
20230.58%2,194,378
20240.66%2,382,080
20250.74%2,561,011
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.78%850,187

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 (7)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2. Nc3, the position after Queen's Pawn Game also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 10 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation (D00)”. Lichess data as of 22 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-chigorin-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-chigorin-variation