Caissa Codex
D32

Tarrasch Defense: Two Knights Variation

Chess diagram: Tarrasch Defense: Two Knights Variation after 5. Nf3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

585,188 games: White 51.0% / Draw 6.9% / Black 42.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
289,594290K
172,267172K
53,12853K
41,19341K
17,57018K
3,5173,517
2,6522,652
1,3091,309

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.20 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... Nc6 6. dxc5 d4 7. Na4 Bxc5 8. Nxc5 Qa5+ 9. Bd2 Qxc5 10. Rc1

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 worse this line does for White: White scores 54% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 60% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 62K
1400–1799 204K
1800–2199 289K
2200 and up 180K
Masters, over the board 4,786

Master games

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: Two Knights Variation (ECO D32, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined: Tarrasch Defense, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 (5 moves).

In 585,188 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.0%, Black 42.1% and 6.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Nc6, in 49% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Tarrasch Defense: Rubinstein System and Tarrasch Defense: Grünfeld Gambit. In all, 18 named lines continue from it.

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How to play against the Tarrasch Defense: Two Knights Variation

The most played answer, 5…Nc6, also scores best for Black: 48.9%, with Black winning 44.8% and White 46.9% of 290K games. Of the main answers, 5…c4 scores lowest: 39.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Nc6.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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: Two Knights Variation has stayed between 0.021% and 0.025% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.022% in 2025).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.021%7,612
20170.023%12,847
20180.024%18,899
20190.024%30,080
20200.025%72,004
20210.022%86,459
20220.021%80,264
20230.022%84,287
20240.022%78,948
20250.022%78,059
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.023%25,644

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)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5. Nf3, the position after Queen's Gambit Declined: Tarrasch Defense also goes on to:

All 18 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Tarrasch Defense: Two Knights Variation (D32)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/tarrasch-defense-two-knights-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/tarrasch-defense-two-knights-variation