Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation 2. Nc3 e6
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Statistics from Lichess
4,571,728 games: White 50.3% / Draw 4.7% / Black 45.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Rapport-Jobava System, with e6 | 2,167,1442.2M | |
| French Defense: Paulsen Variation | 1,156,1191.2M | |
| 606,895607K | ||
| 270,098270K | ||
| 110,802111K | ||
| 104,414104K | ||
| 50,95751K | ||
| 26,38226K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.46 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. e4 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4
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 worse this line does for Black: Black scores 49% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 4.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 4.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 253K | |
| Masters, over the board | 338 |
Master games
- Rapport, R. – Akobian, V.
- Niemann, H. M. – Xiong, J.
- Sethuraman, S. – Meier, G.
- Niemann, H. M. – Jumabayev, R.
- Alekseenko, K. – Rychagov, 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: Chigorin Variation (ECO D00, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 e6 (2 moves).
In 4,571,728 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.3%, Black 45.1% and 4.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Bf4, in 47% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Rapport-Jobava System, with e6.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 2…e6
3. e4 (French Defense: Paulsen Variation) scores best for White: 55.4%, with White winning 53.1% and Black 42.3% of 1.2M games. The most played, 3. Bf4, scores 52.6% in 2.2M games, and 3. Nf3 scores lowest: 50.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 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
This line has gained ground since 2016: 0.22% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.16%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.16% | 58,169 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 71,108 |
| 2018 | 0.12% | 95,126 |
| 2019 | 0.14% | 173,990 |
| 2020 | 0.15% | 437,863 |
| 2021 | 0.16% | 615,912 |
| 2022 | 0.16% | 607,278 |
| 2023 | 0.18% | 668,396 |
| 2024 | 0.2% | 724,952 |
| 2025 | 0.22% | 777,248 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.23% | 255,299 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation (D00)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-chigorin-variation-3