Tarrasch Defense: Prague Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
252,134 games: White 48.7% / Draw 8.7% / Black 42.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 240,854241K | ||
| 5,5575,557 | ||
| 3,1273,127 | ||
| 1,7141,714 | ||
| 339339 | ||
| 278278 | ||
| 8484 | ||
| 8282 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.17 The position is about equal
Best play: 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Nb3 Bb4 10. Bd2 O-O 11. O-O Re8
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 46% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 40% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2,935 | |
| 1400–1799 | 22K | |
| 1800–2199 | 117K | |
| 2200 and up | 119K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,975 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Dubov, D.
- So, W. – Giri, A.
- Melkumyan, H. – Carlsen, M.
- Nakamura, H. – Firouzja, 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 27, 2026
Overview
Tarrasch Defense: Prague Variation (ECO D33, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Tarrasch Defense: Rubinstein System, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 (6 moves).
In 252,134 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.7%, Black 42.6% and 8.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bg2, in 96% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Tarrasch Defense: Prague Variation, Main Line and Tarrasch Defense: Dubov Tarrasch. In all, 13 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
Popularity by year
The Tarrasch Defense: Prague Variation peaked in 2020 at 0.011% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0095% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0082% | 2,943 |
| 2017 | 0.0091% | 5,033 |
| 2018 | 0.01% | 7,966 |
| 2019 | 0.011% | 13,398 |
| 2020 | 0.011% | 33,583 |
| 2021 | 0.0095% | 37,331 |
| 2022 | 0.0092% | 34,372 |
| 2023 | 0.0096% | 35,962 |
| 2024 | 0.0093% | 33,481 |
| 2025 | 0.0095% | 33,083 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0098% | 10,775 |
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 13 named lines that continue from here
- D33 Tarrasch Defense: Dubov Tarrasch 8 moves
- D34 Main Line 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: Prague Variation (D33)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/tarrasch-defense-prague-variation