Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System 3. e3 e6
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Statistics from Lichess
5,995,298 games: White 50.4% / Draw 5.5% / Black 44.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,915,7112.9M | ||
| 1,079,6001.1M | ||
| 689,991690K | ||
| 286,104286K | ||
| 284,320284K | ||
| 161,838162K | ||
| 156,454156K | ||
| 150,324150K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.04 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. b3 Be7 5. Bd3 O-O 6. O-O b6 7. Bb2 Bb7 8. Nbd2 Nbd7
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, 46% at 2200 and up and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 3.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 380K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,051 |
Master games
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Karjakin, S.
- Carlsen, M. – Giri, A.
- Kramnik, V. – Nakamura, H.
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: Colle System (ECO D05, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 (3 moves).
In 5,995,298 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.4%, Black 44.0% and 5.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Bd3, in 49% of those games.
It continues into one named variation. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 3…e6
The most played answer, 4. Bd3, also scores best for White: 54.9%, with White winning 52.2% and Black 42.5% of 2.9M games. Of the main answers, 4. c4 scores lowest: 51.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. b3.
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 dipped to 0.2% of Lichess games in 2021 and has recovered since: 0.25% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.22% | 78,363 |
| 2017 | 0.22% | 123,156 |
| 2018 | 0.23% | 177,934 |
| 2019 | 0.22% | 271,893 |
| 2020 | 0.22% | 648,780 |
| 2021 | 0.2% | 800,017 |
| 2022 | 0.23% | 879,506 |
| 2023 | 0.24% | 902,195 |
| 2024 | 0.25% | 878,466 |
| 2025 | 0.25% | 855,072 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.25% | 272,956 |
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
All 4 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System (D05)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-colle-system-2