Chess opening · ECO D30

Queen's Gambit Declined

The Queen's Gambit Declined starts 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6. It ranks #31 of the 174 openings on this site by how often rated players on Lichess reach it.

The position after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6. White to move.

Move by move

  1. 1. d4White pushes the d-pawn two squares to d4, staking a claim in the center.
  2. 1... d5Black pushes the d-pawn two squares to d5, staking a claim in the center.
  3. 2. c4White pushes the c-pawn two squares to c4.
  4. 2... e6Black advances the e-pawn to e6.

What players choose next, by rating

The three most common White moves from this position in rated Lichess games, grouped by the rating of the player making the move. Nc3 is the most popular next move in every rating band.

RatingMost commonSecondThird
Under 1200Nc3 34%e3 30%Nf3 19%
1200–1399Nc3 40%e3 16%Nf3 13%
1400–1599Nc3 48%Nf3 13%e3 12%
1600–1799Nc3 61%Nf3 13%e3 11%
1800–1999Nc3 70%Nf3 14%e3 8%
2000 and upNc3 69%Nf3 20%cxd5 5%

Related openings

Queen's GambitThe line this one grows fromQueen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight VariationA variation of this line

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