Torre Attack: Classical Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
2,060,582 games: White 49.6% / Draw 6.2% / Black 44.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 713,724714K | ||
| 660,794661K | ||
| 291,799292K | ||
| Nimzowitsch Variation | 213,602214K | |
| 115,433115K | ||
| 15,58716K | ||
| 12,78913K | ||
| 11,97412K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... h6 4. Bh4 c5 5. e3 cxd4 6. exd4 Qb6 7. Nbd2 Qxb2 8. Rb1
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 51% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 50% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 192K | |
| 1400–1799 | 680K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 418K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,997 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- So, W. – Giri, A.
- Harikrishna, P. – Caruana, F.
- Harikrishna, P. – Nakamura, H.
- Carlsen, M. – Korobov, 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
Torre Attack: Classical Defense (ECO A46, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense: Knights Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 (3 moves).
In 2,060,582 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.6%, Black 44.2% and 6.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Be7, in 35% of those games.
It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Torre Attack: Classical Defense, Nimzowitsch Variation and Torre Attack: Wagner Gambit.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 3. Bg5
3…c5 scores best for Black: 50.5%, with Black winning 47.3% and White 46.3% of 292K games. The most played answer, 3…Be7, scores lowest: 46.4% in 714K games. Stockfish's first choice is 3…h6.
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 Torre Attack: Classical Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.072% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.098%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.098% | 34,855 |
| 2017 | 0.1% | 57,261 |
| 2018 | 0.11% | 82,505 |
| 2019 | 0.096% | 119,392 |
| 2020 | 0.09% | 263,784 |
| 2021 | 0.076% | 298,013 |
| 2022 | 0.077% | 289,088 |
| 2023 | 0.077% | 289,213 |
| 2024 | 0.074% | 265,589 |
| 2025 | 0.072% | 249,137 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.072% | 78,838 |
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 (4)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Torre Attack: Classical Defense (A46)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/torre-attack-classical-defense