Dutch Defense: Rubinstein Variation
1. d4 f5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3
The Dutch Defense: Rubinstein Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A84, reached after 1. d4 f5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3. 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 2,699 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 3… Bb4 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.41 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 3… Nf6 4. a3 g6 5. h4 d6 6. e3)
- ECO
- A84
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppp2pp/4p3/5p2/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. d4 f5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 523 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,803 | |
| 2000+ | 373 | |
| All | 2,699 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Bb4 | 1,350 (50%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 978 (36%) | |
| 3… d5 | 129 (5%) | |
| 3… c6 | 89 (3%) | |
| 3… b6 | 45 (2%) | |
| 3… d6 | 27 (1%) | |
| 3… Be7 | 27 (1%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 19 (1%) |
Master games
248 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 19%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- Stoofvlees II b5 (3492) – LCZero 0.31-dag-5107404-T2-5230000 (3633) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- LCZero 0.31-dag-5107404-T2-5230000 (3633) – Stoofvlees II b5 (3492) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- KomodoDragon2747.00 (3582) – StoofvleesII a18 (3532) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-06-25
- StoofvleesII a18 (3532) – KomodoDragon2747.00 (3582) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Premier 2021 · 2021-06-23
- Stockfish 20201225 (3592) – Stoofvlees II a16 (3513) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-09
Search all games of the Dutch Defense: Rubinstein Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- albatrosss123 (2495) – Penghancur1010 (2523) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- kkkabannn (2478) – peramitic_davitelj (2389) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- ArsenXanov (2329) – Mauricioprado (2398) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Dutch Defense: Classical Variation (2. c4 e6) 1. d4 f5 2. c4 e6
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.