Horwitz Defense
Chess opening · ECO A40 · 2 half-moves
1. d4 e6
The Horwitz Defense is reached after 1. d4 e6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Queen's Pawn Game with 1… e6.
How often it is played
The Horwitz Defense and its variations appeared in 1.6% of games — 47,948 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 31 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 51%, 3.5% were drawn and Black won 46%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.38 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 | 5.1% |
| Queen's Gambit | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 | 4.5% |
| Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 | 2.3% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Rat Defense: Small Center Defense | 1. d4 e6 2. e4 d6 | 0.21% |
| Kangaroo Defense | 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ | 0.02% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Alapin Variation | 1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 d5 | 0.00% |
| Horwitz Defense: Zilbermints Gambit | 1. d4 e6 2. c4 e5 | 0.00% |
| Benoni Defense: Franco-Sicilian Hybrid | 1. d4 e6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 exd5 4. cxd5 d6 5. Nc3 g6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nf3 Ne7 | 0.00% |
| English Defense: Perrin Variation | 1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. e4 Bb7 4. Bd3 Nc6 | 0.00% |
Check your own games
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