D34

Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

288,780 games: White 49.2% / Draw 8.9% / Black 41.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Carlsbad Variation	108,573109K
	88,80289K
	25,86526K
	24,93625K
	10,11810K
	9,3149,314
	7,7727,772
	5,7925,792

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.20 The position is about equal

Best play: 9. Bg5 c4 10. e3 Be6 11. Ne5 Nd7 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Bxe7 Qxe7

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	1,517
1400–1799	17K
1800–2199	133K
2200 and up	143K
Masters, over the board	6,382

Master games

Nakamura, H. – Mamedyarov, S. ½–½, 2018
Vachier Lagrave, M. – Grischuk, A. ½–½, 2019
Gelfand, B. – Ivanchuk, V. ½–½, 2011
Ding Liren – Mamedov, R. 1–0, 2018
Vidit, S. – Wei Yi ½–½, 2019

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

Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation (ECO D34, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Tarrasch Defense: Prague Variation, Main Line, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O (8 moves).

In 288,780 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 41.9% and 8.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 9. Bg5, in 38% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Carlsbad Variation and Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Réti Variation. In all, 9 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation

9. b3 scores best for White: 55.7%, with White winning 51.1% and Black 39.8% of 25K games. The most played answer, 9. Bg5, scores lowest: 52.7% in 109K games. Stockfish's first choice is 9. Bg5.

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: Classical Variation peaked in 2020 at 0.014% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.011% in 2025.

0.0097%0.011%0.014%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0097%	3,479
2017	0.011%	6,279
2018	0.013%	10,195
2019	0.013%	16,245
2020	0.014%	40,096
2021	0.011%	43,193
2022	0.01%	38,734
2023	0.01%	38,571
2024	0.01%	37,409
2025	0.011%	37,528
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.011%	12,306

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 9 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation (D34)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/tarrasch-defense-classical-variation