Dutch Defense: Barcza Variation
1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c3
The Dutch Defense: Barcza Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A80, reached after 1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c3. It is a line of the Dutch Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 176 times by this move order. White won 47%, 6% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 3… e6 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.33 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 3… e6 4. Bf4 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Be2)
- ECO
- A80
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppppp1pp/5n2/5p2/3P4/2P2N2/PP2PPPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 26 | |
| 1500-1999 | 98 | |
| 2000+ | 52 | |
| All | 176 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… e6 | 97 (55%) | |
| 3… g6 | 42 (24%) | |
| 3… d5 | 14 (8%) | |
| 3… d6 | 11 (6%) | |
| 3… b6 | 8 (5%) | |
| 3… c6 | 1 (1%) | |
| 3… h6 | 1 (1%) | |
| 3… e5 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
27 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 15%, Black 52%). The strongest:
- IM Codrut-Constantin Florescu (2286) – GM Gergely Aczel (2530) 0-1 · TCh-ROU 1st League 2019 · 2019-09-26
- IM Ricardo De Guzman (2259) – IM Maksim Tsaruk (2470) 0-1 · Abu Dhabi Masters Online · 2025-08-18
- FM Nikolaos Aggelis (2278) – IM Mihai-Lucian Grunberg (2401) 1-0 · Titled Tue 14th Feb Early · 2023-02-14
- Pedro 2006 Fernandez Lopez (1974) – GM Daniel H. Campora (2369) 0-1 · 10th Oviedo Open 2024 · 2024-08-06
- WIM Jamalia, N. (2005) – Gabor Kun (2329) 0-1 · TCh-HUN 2017-18 · 2018-03-04
Search all games of the Dutch Defense: Barcza Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Beschuetzer (2343) – FM tetralex77 (2429) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Beschuetzer (2320) – ornskoldsvik77 (2355) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- saeed1992 (2339) – mahe00 (2323) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Dutch Defense (1. d4 f5) 1. d4 f5
More Dutch Defense lines (all)
- Dutch Defense: Alapin Variation A80
- Dutch Defense: Hevendehl Gambit A80
- Dutch Defense: Hopton Attack A80
- Dutch Defense: Janzen-Korchnoi Gambit A80
- Dutch Defense: Kingfisher Gambit A80
- Dutch Defense: Korchnoi Attack A80
- Dutch Defense: Krejcik Gambit A80
- Dutch Defense: Krejcik Gambit, Tate Gambit A80
- Dutch Defense: Manhattan Gambit, Anti-Classical Line A80
- Dutch Defense: Manhattan Gambit, Anti-Leningrad A80
- Dutch Defense: Manhattan Gambit, Anti-Modern A80
- Dutch Defense: Manhattan Gambit, Anti-Stonewall A80
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.