Tarrasch Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
2,021,522 games: White 48.8% / Draw 5.6% / Black 45.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 789,620790K | ||
| 492,442492K | ||
| 418,403418K | ||
| 197,095197K | ||
| 78,68079K | ||
| 20,02120K | ||
| 7,3537,353 | ||
| 6,0546,054 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.31 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. dxc5 d4 7. Na4 Bxc5 8. Nxc5 Qa5+
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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 47% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 41% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 441K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1M | |
| 2200 and up | 268K | |
| Masters, over the board | 5,184 |
Master games
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Vidit, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Van Foreest, J.
- Ding Liren – Grischuk, A.
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
Tarrasch Defense (ECO D32, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 (3 moves).
In 2,021,522 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.8%, Black 45.7% and 5.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. cxd5, in 39% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation and Queen's Gambit Declined: Tarrasch Defense. In all, 25 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 play against the Tarrasch Defense
4. dxc5 scores best for White: 53.2%, with White winning 50.6% and Black 44.3% of 197K games. The most played, 4. cxd5, scores 51.6% in 790K games, and 4. Nf3 scores lowest: 51.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. cxd5.
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 Tarrasch Defense peaked in 2017 at 0.089% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.072% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.083% | 29,636 |
| 2017 | 0.089% | 49,087 |
| 2018 | 0.087% | 68,710 |
| 2019 | 0.087% | 108,661 |
| 2020 | 0.085% | 247,974 |
| 2021 | 0.079% | 310,278 |
| 2022 | 0.077% | 289,885 |
| 2023 | 0.077% | 287,691 |
| 2024 | 0.075% | 268,078 |
| 2025 | 0.072% | 250,920 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.071% | 77,894 |
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 (3)
All 25 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- D32 Queen's Gambit Declined: Tarrasch Defense 4 moves
- D32 Schara Gambit 4 moves
- D32 Symmetrical Variation 5 moves
- D32 Tarrasch Defense: Marshall Gambit 5 moves
- D32 Tarrasch Defense: Tarrasch Gambit 6 moves
- D32 Tarrasch Defense: Two Knights Variation 5 moves
- D32 Tarrasch Defense: von Hennig Gambit 7 moves
- D32 Tarrasch Defense: Grünfeld Gambit 7 moves
- D33 Tarrasch Defense: Rubinstein System 6 moves
- D33 Tarrasch Defense: Prague Variation 6 moves
- D33 Tarrasch Defense: Swedish Variation 6 moves
- D33 Tarrasch Defense: Dubov Tarrasch 8 moves
- D34 Main Line 7 moves
- D33 Central Break 7 moves
- D33 Tarrasch Defense: Wagner Variation 7 moves
- D34 Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation 8 moves
- D34 Carlsbad Variation 9 moves
- D34 Classical Tarrasch Gambit 9 moves
- D34 Réti Variation 10 moves
- D34 Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Advance Variation 9 moves
- D34 Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Endgame Variation 9 moves
- D34 Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Main Line 11 moves
- D34 Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Petursson Variation 10 moves
- D34 Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Spassky Variation 11 moves
- D34 Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Chandler Variation 12 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Tarrasch Defense (D32)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/tarrasch-defense