Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation 2. Nf3 Nc6
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Statistics from Lichess
11,151,388 games: White 54.1% / Draw 4.8% / Black 41.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,926,7972.9M | ||
| 2,438,3342.4M | ||
| 2,313,6542.3M | ||
| 1,260,0771.3M | ||
| 675,241675K | ||
| 517,717518K | ||
| 482,971483K | ||
| 153,651154K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 4, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.44 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Rc1 h6
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% under 1400, 45% at 2200 and up and 41% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 12.2M | |
| 1400–1799 | 12.4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 5M | |
| 2200 and up | 384K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,142 |
Master games
- Grischuk, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Giri, A. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Kramnik, V. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Ding Liren – Rapport, R.
- Kasparov, G. – Short, N.
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 D02, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 (2 moves).
In 11,151,388 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.1%, Black 41.1% and 4.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Bf4, in 26% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 2…Nc6
3. c4 scores best for White: 59.8%, with White winning 57.6% and Black 38.0% of 2.3M games. The most played, 3. Bf4, scores 56.6% in 2.9M games, and 3. Nc3 scores lowest: 51.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. 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 has stayed between 0.38% and 0.45% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.43% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.45% | 161,024 |
| 2017 | 0.4% | 222,516 |
| 2018 | 0.38% | 301,079 |
| 2019 | 0.38% | 480,129 |
| 2020 | 0.43% | 1,256,559 |
| 2021 | 0.44% | 1,702,216 |
| 2022 | 0.45% | 1,681,452 |
| 2023 | 0.44% | 1,669,406 |
| 2024 | 0.43% | 1,551,654 |
| 2025 | 0.43% | 1,483,608 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.42% | 463,910 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation (D02)”. Lichess data as of 4 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-chigorin-variation-4