Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense
Chess opening · ECO D06 · 4 half-moves
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense is reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Queen's Gambit with 2… Nf6.
How often it is played
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense and its variations appeared in 0.49% of games — 14,835 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 90 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 53%, 3.7% were drawn and Black won 43%. 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 +0.72 — a clear 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: Marshall Defense, Tan Gambit | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. cxd5 c6 | 0.01% |
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