Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense
Chess opening · ECO D07 · 4 half-moves
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense is reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Queen's Gambit with 2… Nc6.
How often it is played
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense and its variations appeared in 0.24% of games — 7,070 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 167 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 55%, 3.5% were drawn and Black won 42%. 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 +0.58 — 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Slav Defense | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 | 1.3% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 | 1.3% |
| Queen's Gambit Accepted | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 | 0.80% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. Nf3 | 0.05% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Exchange Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. cxd5 Qxd5 | 0.03% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Main Line | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bg4 | 0.02% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Tartakower Gambit | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 | 0.01% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Lazard Gambit | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 e5 | 0.00% |
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