Chess opening · ECO A40

Queen's Pawn Game

The Queen's Pawn Game starts 1. d4. It ranks #2 of the 174 openings on this site by how often rated players on Lichess reach it.

The position after 1. d4. Black to move.

Move by move

  1. 1. d4White pushes the d-pawn two squares to d4, staking a claim in the center.

What players choose next, by rating

The three most common Black moves from this position in rated Lichess games, grouped by the rating of the player making the move. Among players rated under 1200, the most popular next move is d5; among players rated 2000 and up, it is Nf6.

RatingMost commonSecondThird
Under 1200d5 54%e6 15%Nf6 8%
1200–1399d5 58%e6 13%Nf6 10%
1400–1599d5 52%Nf6 15%e6 12%
1600–1799d5 44%Nf6 22%e6 12%
1800–1999d5 36%Nf6 32%e6 10%
2000 and upNf6 45%d5 28%c5 6%

Related openings

Indian DefenseA variation of this lineQueen's GambitA variation of this lineHorwitz DefenseA variation of this lineQueen's Pawn Game: Zukertort VariationA variation of this lineBenoni Defense: Old BenoniA variation of this lineQueen's Pawn Game: Modern DefenseA variation of this lineQueen's Pawn Game: Chigorin VariationA variation of this lineQueen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London SystemA variation of this lineDutch DefenseA variation of this lineEnglund GambitA variation of this lineOld Indian DefenseA variation of this lineBlackmar-Diemer GambitA variation of this line

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