Rat Defense: Antal Defense
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nd7
The Rat Defense: Antal Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nd7. It is a line of the Rat Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 6,956 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3. Nf3 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.68 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3. c4 e5 4. Nf3 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppnpppp/3p4/8/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nd7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,241 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4,313 | |
| 2000+ | 1,402 | |
| All | 6,956 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Nf3 | 2,002 (29%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 1,644 (24%) | |
| 3. c4 | 981 (14%) | |
| 3. f4 | 791 (11%) | |
| 3. Bd3 | 503 (7%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 256 (4%) | |
| 3. d5 | 205 (3%) | |
| 3. Be3 | 100 (1%) |
Master games
671 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 53%, draw 12%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Pavel Eljanov (2694) – FM Rafael 1982 Merino Garcia (2407) 0-1 · Titled Tue 11th Jul Late · 2023-07-11
- GM Illya Nyzhnyk (2628) – GM Rogelio Barcenilla (2455) 1/2-1/2 · US Chess League 2015 · 2015-10-20
- GM David Paravyan (2647) – IM Sankalp Gupta (2429) 0-1 · Chess.com Bullet Open 2 · 2020-12-19
- GM Martyn Kravtsiv (2598) – GM Maciej Klekowski (2477) 1-0 · Titled Tue 31st Jan Early · 2023-01-31
- IM Novak Cabarkapa (2453) – GM Haik M. Martirosyan (2622) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Aug 10am · 2020-08-04
Search all games of the Rat Defense: Antal Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- KAVO_LIDER (2634) – GM Yarebore (2925) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- johnsam1 (2736) – ilipawn (2572) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- openinglab100 (2664) – keytogo1 (2639) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Pirc Defense (1… d6 2. d4) 1. e4 d6 2. d4
More Rat Defense lines (all)
- Rat Defense: English Rat A41
- Rat Defense: English Rat, Lisbon Gambit A41
- Rat Defense: English Rat, Pounds Gambit A41
- Rat Defense: Balogh Defense A82
- Rat Defense: Fuller Gambit B00
- Rat Defense: Harmonist B00
- Rat Defense: Petruccioli Attack B00
- Rat Defense: Spike Attack B00
- Rat Defense: Accelerated Gurgenidze B06
- Rat Defense: Small Center Defense C00
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.