Queen's Pawn Game: Torre Attack, Gossip Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
500,893 games: White 45.5% / Draw 6.5% / Black 48.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 219,457219K | ||
| 179,955180K | ||
| 31,45931K | ||
| 28,44028K | ||
| 15,02615K | ||
| 7,0817,081 | ||
| 5,7395,739 | ||
| 3,4003,400 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.06 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. Be3 e6 5. c3 Bd6 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 Nd7 8. O-O b6
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% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 49K | |
| 1400–1799 | 126K | |
| 1800–2199 | 305K | |
| 2200 and up | 115K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,050 |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Giri, A.
- Kramnik, V. – Anand, V.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Giri, A.
- Artemiev, V. – Caruana, F.
- Kramnik, V. – Gelfand, B.
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: Torre Attack, Gossip Variation (ECO D03, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game: Torre Attack, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bg5 Ne4 (3 moves).
In 500,893 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.5%, Black 48.0% and 6.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Bh4, in 44% 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: Torre Attack, Gossip Variation
4. h4 scores best for White: 50.4%, with White winning 47.4% and Black 46.6% of 28K games. The most played, 4. Bh4, scores 49.9% in 219K games, and 4. e3 scores lowest: 43.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. Be3.
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: Torre Attack, Gossip Variation peaked in 2017 at 0.024% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.019% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.022% | 7,697 |
| 2017 | 0.024% | 13,221 |
| 2018 | 0.024% | 18,559 |
| 2019 | 0.021% | 26,373 |
| 2020 | 0.02% | 57,793 |
| 2021 | 0.018% | 68,827 |
| 2022 | 0.018% | 69,259 |
| 2023 | 0.019% | 73,042 |
| 2024 | 0.019% | 69,022 |
| 2025 | 0.019% | 66,400 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.02% | 21,719 |
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: Torre Attack, Gossip Variation (D03)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-torre-attack-gossip-variation