Queen's Pawn Game: Krause Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
3,951,956 games: White 49.8% / Draw 5.1% / Black 45.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 976,349976K | ||
| 751,287751K | ||
| 630,033630K | ||
| 514,836515K | ||
| 476,087476K | ||
| 304,912305K | ||
| 109,926110K | ||
| 102,166102K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.31 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. dxc5 d4 7. Na4 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 49% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.2M | |
| 1400–1799 | 2.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 347K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,474 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Fedoseev, V.
- Vallejo Pons, F. – Aronian, L.
- Grischuk, A. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Praggnanandhaa, R. – Fedoseev, V.
- Karjakin, S. – Svidler, P.
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: Krause 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 c5 (2 moves).
In 3,951,956 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.8%, Black 45.0% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. e3, in 25% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation and Queen's Pawn Game: Chandler Gambit.
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: Krause Variation
3. c4 scores best for White: 55.7%, with White winning 52.9% and Black 41.4% of 630K games. The most played, 3. e3, scores 51.7% in 976K games, and 3. dxc5 scores lowest: 50.4%. 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
The Queen's Pawn Game: Krause Variation has stayed between 0.13% and 0.16% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.16% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.13% | 47,499 |
| 2017 | 0.14% | 77,705 |
| 2018 | 0.15% | 115,884 |
| 2019 | 0.14% | 179,627 |
| 2020 | 0.14% | 424,264 |
| 2021 | 0.15% | 568,611 |
| 2022 | 0.16% | 589,443 |
| 2023 | 0.16% | 599,738 |
| 2024 | 0.16% | 563,785 |
| 2025 | 0.16% | 549,360 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.16% | 171,493 |
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 (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game: Krause Variation (D02)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-krause-variation