Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation, Alburt Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
1,225,184 games: White 48.9% / Draw 4.5% / Black 46.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 621,162621K | ||
| 192,392192K | ||
| 157,133157K | ||
| 70,72871K | ||
| 67,21667K | ||
| 38,07538K | ||
| 21,03721K | ||
| 20,20820K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.07 The position is about equal
Best play: 3. f3 Bg6 4. e4 dxe4 5. fxe4 e5 6. Nf3 exd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4
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 51% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 536K | |
| 2200 and up | 48K | |
| Masters, over the board | 264 |
Master games
- Niemann, H. M. – Aronian, L.
- Jobava, B. – Andreikin, D.
- Bortnyk, O. – Aronian, L.
- Bortnyk, O. – Andreikin, D.
- Nakamura, H. – Xu, X.
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 27, 2026
Overview
Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation, Alburt Defense (ECO D00, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Bf5 (2 moves).
In 1,225,184 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.9%, Black 46.6% and 4.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Bf4, in 51% 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: Chigorin Variation, Alburt Defense
3. f3 scores best for White: 54.4%, with White winning 52.3% and Black 43.5% of 157K games. The most played, 3. Bf4, scores 51.8% in 621K games, and 3. e3 scores lowest: 47.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. f3.
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: Chigorin Variation, Alburt Defense has gained ground since 2016: 0.063% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.038%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.038% | 13,634 |
| 2017 | 0.031% | 17,189 |
| 2018 | 0.028% | 22,343 |
| 2019 | 0.034% | 42,099 |
| 2020 | 0.037% | 107,495 |
| 2021 | 0.041% | 161,384 |
| 2022 | 0.044% | 163,926 |
| 2023 | 0.048% | 180,197 |
| 2024 | 0.056% | 201,572 |
| 2025 | 0.063% | 219,705 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.066% | 72,523 |
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, Alburt Defense (D00)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-chigorin-variation-alburt-defense