Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Henneberger Variation (7. Rc1 a6)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 a6
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Henneberger Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D63, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 a6. It is a line of the Queen's Gambit Declined. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 8. cxd5 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.37 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 c6 10. O-O Ne4)
- ECO
- D63
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/1ppnbppp/p3pn2/3p2B1/2PP4/2N1PN2/PP3PPP/2RQKB1R w K - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 a6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. cxd5 Orthodox Defense, Swiss, Carlsbad Variation | 1 (50%) | |
| 8. h3 | 1 (50%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Fueguino (2197) – Schachbrettreiniger (2212) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Proyecto01 (2152) – Qudear (2147) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Main Line (6… Nbd7 7. Rc1) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1
Continuations
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Henneberger Variation (7… a6 8. c5) D63 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 a6 8. c5
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Swiss, Carlsbad Variation D63 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 a6 8. cxd5
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.