Dutch Defense: Queen's Knight Variation
1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3
The Dutch Defense: Queen's Knight Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A85, reached after 1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3. It is a line of the Dutch Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 9,421 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3… e6 (63% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.39 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 3… e6 4. a3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. b4)
- ECO
- A85
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppppp1pp/5n2/5p2/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,361 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6,347 | |
| 2000+ | 1,713 | |
| All | 9,421 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… e6 | 5,960 (63%) | |
| 3… g6 | 1,968 (21%) | |
| 3… d6 | 602 (6%) | |
| 3… c6 | 341 (4%) | |
| 3… b6 | 233 (2%) | |
| 3… d5 | 164 (2%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 39 (0%) | |
| 3… c5 | 35 (0%) |
Master games
2,984 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 18%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- Stockfish2021061923 (3632) – LCZero0.28.0-rc1_69146 (3614) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-07-04
- LCZero0.28.0-rc1_69146 (3614) – Stockfish2021061923 (3632) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-07-02
- Stockfish dev-20230903-b25d68f6 (3666) – RubiChess 20230823 (3508) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- RubiChess 20230823 (3508) – Stockfish dev-20230903-b25d68f6 (3666) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- Stockfish dev-20230903-b25d68f6 (3666) – RubiChess 20230823 (3508) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
Search all games of the Dutch Defense: Queen's Knight Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- alexlele2008 (2627) – IM AlexTriapishko (2825) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- I_am_Mr_Nobody (2720) – Johnizard (2681) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Fide_MaSk (2708) – MightActuallyTry (2688) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Dutch Defense: Normal Variation 1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6
Continuations
- Dutch Defense: Krause Variation A84 · 1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 Nc6
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.