- ECO code
- D35
- Moves
- 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6
- Family
- Queen's Gambit Declined
- To move
- White
- Master games
- 899
- Average game length
- 43 moves
- Years covered
- 1857–2026
Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense is the opening filed under ECO code D35, reached after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6. It belongs to the Queen's Gambit Declined family and is known as the Normal Defense; in the resulting position it is White to move.
Katuranga's collection of 138,070 master games contains 899 games on this line — the 117th most played opening in the collection. The oldest game on this line is from 1857 and the most recent from 2026. The busiest decade in this collection is the 2020s, with 237 games. An average game here lasts 43 moves.
White wins 45% of those games, 35% end in a draw, and Black wins 20%. Compared with the collection average (White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28%), Black scores worse here by 8 percentage points.
From this position the most popular move is 4.Bg5, played in 453 games, followed by 4.cxd5 (269) and 4.Nf3 (162). 4.Bg5 leads into Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation. After 4.Bg5 White scores 42% and Black 18%.
The name that appears most often on the White side of this line is Marshall, Frank James (99 games); on the Black side, Lasker, Emanuel (43).
1 named variation branch off this position and have their own page here, among them Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation.
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Results in master games
- White 45% (402)
- Draws 35% (315)
- Black 20% (182)
Most played continuations
| Move | Games | White / draws / Black | Leads into |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.Bg5 | 453 | 42/40/18 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation |
| 4.cxd5 | 269 | 53/24/23 | — |
| 4.Nf3 | 162 | 38/40/22 | — |
| 4.Bf4 | 8 | 50/25/25 | — |
| 4.e3 | 4 | 25/50/25 | — |
| 4.f3 | 2 | 0/50/50 | — |
| 4.c5 | 1 | 100/0/0 | — |
Variations from this position
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation · 4.Bg5 · 453 games
How the position is reached
- Queen's Pawn Game · 1.d4 · 45,810 games
- Queen's Pawn Game · 1.d4 d5 · 11,560 games
- Queen's Gambit · 1.d4 d5 2.c4 · 8,858 games
- Queen's Gambit Declined · 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 · 3,217 games
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation · 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 · 2,147 games
Played most often by
As White
- Marshall, Frank James 99
- Pillsbury, Harry Nelson 46
- Alekhine, Alexander 41
As Black
- Lasker, Emanuel 43
- Kramnik,V 27
- Rubinstein, Akiba 27
Games per decade
- 1850s 2
- 1870s 1
- 1880s 7
- 1890s 81
- 1900s 133
- 1910s 26
- 1920s 77
- 1930s 74
- 1940s 22
- 1950s 30
- 1960s 24
- 1970s 10
- 1980s 31
- 1990s 43
- 2000s 26
- 2010s 75
- 2020s 237
Master games on this line
| White | Black | Result | Year | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vachier Lagrave,M | Klukin,Kirill | 0-1 | 2026 | Titled Tue 17th Mar 2026 |
| Bluebaum,M | Caruana,F | 0-1 | 2026 | 1st 3-0 Thu 19th Feb 2026 |
| Nakamura,Hi | Esipenko,Andrey | 0-1 | 2026 | Titled Tue 16th Jun 2026 |
| Erigaisi,Arjun | Nihal,Sarin | 1-0 | 2026 | Tata Steel India Blitz |
| Ivanchuk,V | Cieslak,Patryk | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | TIPOS TCh-SVK 2025-26 |
| Kreken,Eivind Grunt | Vachier Lagrave,M | 0-1 | 2026 | Titled Tue 20th Jan 2026 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense?
It is the opening with ECO code D35, reached after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6. It belongs to the Queen's Gambit Declined family.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense good for White or for Black?
In 899 master games on this line White wins 45%, 35% are drawn and Black wins 20%. The collection average is White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28% — so this line is no worse than usual for White than the field as a whole.
What is the main continuation of the Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense?
4.Bg5 — played in 453 of the master games on this line, which leads into Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation.
Which grandmasters play the Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense?
On the White side Marshall, Frank James (99), Pillsbury, Harry Nelson (46), Alekhine, Alexander (41); on the Black side Lasker, Emanuel (43), Kramnik,V (27), Rubinstein, Akiba (27).
Every number on this page is computed from Katuranga's master game collection; names and ECO codes follow the lichess opening book (CC0).
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