Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense (3. Nc3 dxc4)
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D07, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4. It is a line of the Queen's Gambit Declined. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,416 times by this move order. White won 53%, 4% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 4. d5 (26% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.82 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 4. d5 Nb8 5. e4 e5 6. Nf3 Nd7)
- ECO
- D07
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp1pppp/2n5/8/2pP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 978 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,301 | |
| 2000+ | 137 | |
| All | 2,416 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d5 | 632 (26%) | |
| 4. Nf3 Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation | 604 (25%) | |
| 4. e3 | 588 (24%) | |
| 4. e4 | 458 (19%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 103 (4%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 10 (0%) | |
| 4. a3 | 7 (0%) | |
| 4. a4 | 4 (0%) |
Master games
235 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 17%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- IM Leon Livaic (2507) – GM Alexander Morozevich (2659) 0-1 · Titled Arena Jan 2nd 2021 · 2021-01-02
- GM Nosenko, A. (2492) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2647) 0-1 · 18th Voronezh Master Open 2014 · 2014-06-16
- GM Michal Krasenkow (2628) – GM M.R. Venkatesh (2503) 1-0 · 18th HZ Open 2014 · 2014-08-06
- GM Erwin L'Ami (2621) – GM Robert Rabiega (2505) 1-0 · Bundesliga 2021-22 · 2022-05-14
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) – CM Matfey Rogov (2291) 1-0 · Titled Tue 21st Jan Late · 2025-01-21
Search all games of the Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- chess_fighter2806 (2480) – makchudra (2606) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
- Jora_Barygin (2526) – Poblesk (2543) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM ItRelates (2524) – Freitagfan (2485) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense (2… Nc6 3. Nc3) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3
Continuations
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation D07 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. Nf3
More Queen's Gambit Declined lines (all)
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Baltic Defense, Pseudo-Slav D02
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Austrian Attack, Salvio Countergambit D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Austrian Defense D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Austrian Defense, Gusev Countergambit D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Austrian Defense, Haberditz Variation D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Baltic Defense D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Baltic Defense, Argentinian Gambit D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Baltic Defense, Pseudo-Chigorin D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Baltic Defense, Queen Attack D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Baltic Defense, Queen Attack Deferred D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense D06
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense, Tan Gambit D06
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.