Dutch Defense: Leningrad Variation, Carlsbad Variation
1. d4 f5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nh3
The Dutch Defense: Leningrad Variation, Carlsbad Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A81, reached after 1. d4 f5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nh3. 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 3 times by this move order. White won 33%, 0% were drawn and Black won 67%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.35 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 4… Nc6 5. d5 Ne5 6. a4 Nf6 7. a5)
- ECO
- A81
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/ppppp1bp/6p1/5p2/3P4/6PN/PPP1PPBP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. d4 f5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nh3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 | 2 (67%) | |
| 4… d6 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
13 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 24%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- IM Pablo Cruz Lledo (2432) – FM Hjelmaas, L. (2271) 0-1 · Riga Tech Open A 2018 · 2018-08-07
- FM Amir Hosein Kashefi (2193) – GM Maciej Klekowski (2477) 0-1 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Early · 2024-01-09
- Juan Manuel Gaitan (2283) – FM Julia, E. (2359) 1/2-1/2 · 86th ch-ARG 2012 · 2012-07-09
- GM Petro Golubka (2438) – Paulina Cagara (2045) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 2nd Nov · 2021-11-02
- WGM Thi Bao Tram Hoang (2266) – Paulina Cagara (2085) 1-0 · Titled Tue 8th Aug Early · 2023-08-08
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM A_H_Kashefi (2413) – ChessWithMiran (2360) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- NM Zombieblitz (2360) – Havatiah (2274) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- YggdrasiI (2158) – gardmr20 (1746) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 1800 + 0s
Comes from
Dutch Defense: Fianchetto Attack 1. d4 f5 2. g3
More Dutch Defense lines (all)
- Dutch Defense (1. d4 f5) A80
- Dutch Defense: Alapin Variation A80
- Dutch Defense: Barcza 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
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.