Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System, Grünfeld Formation
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Statistics from Lichess
418,973 games: White 46.3% / Draw 5.9% / Black 47.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 161,804162K | ||
| 106,916107K | ||
| 42,19342K | ||
| 36,11736K | ||
| 17,51318K | ||
| 14,08014K | ||
| 13,46613K | ||
| 7,6297,629 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.05 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. b4 Nbd7 6. O-O O-O 7. h3 b6 8. Nbd2 c5 9. bxc5 bxc5
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 51% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 125K | |
| 1400–1799 | 280K | |
| 1800–2199 | 235K | |
| 2200 and up | 21K | |
| Masters, over the board | 108 |
Master games
- Fontaine, R. – Solak, D.
- Lombardy, W. J. – Lein, A.
- Claesen, P. – Atalik, S.
- Klinger, J. – Garcia Palermo, C. H.
- Belezky, A. – Fridman, D.
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: Colle System, Grünfeld Formation (ECO D04, 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 g6 4. Bd3 Bg7 (4 moves).
In 418,973 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.3%, Black 47.8% and 5.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. O-O, in 39% 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: Colle System, Grünfeld Formation
5. Nbd2 scores best for White: 50.2%, with White winning 47.2% and Black 46.8% of 107K games. The most played, 5. O-O, scores 49.6% in 162K games, and 5. c3 scores lowest: 48.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. b4.
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: Colle System, Grünfeld Formation dipped to 0.014% of Lichess games in 2021 and has recovered since: 0.017% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.015% | 5,291 |
| 2017 | 0.016% | 8,533 |
| 2018 | 0.015% | 12,084 |
| 2019 | 0.015% | 18,770 |
| 2020 | 0.015% | 45,045 |
| 2021 | 0.014% | 55,677 |
| 2022 | 0.017% | 65,510 |
| 2023 | 0.017% | 62,542 |
| 2024 | 0.017% | 60,188 |
| 2025 | 0.017% | 59,454 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,789 |
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: Colle System, Grünfeld Formation (D04)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-colle-system-grunfeld-formation