- ECO code
- A40
- Moves
- 1.d4
- Family
- Queen's Pawn Game
- To move
- Black
- Master games
- 45,810
- Average game length
- 44 moves
- Years covered
- 1848–2026
Queen's Pawn Game is the opening filed under ECO code A40, reached after 1.d4. It belongs to the Queen's Pawn Game family; in the resulting position it is Black to move.
Katuranga's collection of 138,070 master games contains 45,810 games on this line — the 2nd most played opening in the collection. The oldest game on this line is from 1848 and the most recent from 2026. The busiest decade in this collection is the 2020s, with 17,024 games. An average game here lasts 44 moves.
White wins 34% of those games, 38% end in a draw, and Black wins 28%. That is close to the collection average (White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28%).
From this position the most popular move is 1...Nf6, played in 29,631 games, followed by 1...d5 (11,560) and 1...e6 (1,773). 1...Nf6 leads into Indian Defense. After 1...Nf6 White scores 33% and Black 27%.
The name that appears most often on the White side of this line is Mamedyarov,S (2,003 games); on the Black side, Nakamura,Hi (1,673).
24 named variations branch off this position and have their own page here, among them Indian Defense; Indian Defense: Normal Variation; Queen's Pawn Game (D00).
Reading about an opening is not the same as knowing it. Play this line against the Katuranga bot, then let the engine mark your brilliant moves, mistakes and blunders in Analysis — the fastest way to find out which of these moves you actually understand.
Results in master games
- White 34% (15,641)
- Draws 38% (17,403)
- Black 28% (12,766)
Most played continuations
| Move | Games | White / draws / Black | Leads into |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1...Nf6 | 29,631 | 33/40/27 | Indian Defense |
| 1...d5 | 11,560 | 37/39/24 | Queen's Pawn Game (D00) |
| 1...e6 | 1,773 | 33/31/36 | Horwitz Defense |
| 1...g6 | 899 | 27/19/54 | Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense |
| 1...f5 | 724 | 35/26/39 | Dutch Defense |
| 1...d6 | 671 | 41/25/34 | Queen's Pawn Game (A41) |
| 1...c5 | 164 | 40/20/40 | Benoni Defense: Old Benoni |
| 1...b6 | 106 | 29/9/62 | — |
Variations from this position
- Indian Defense · 1...Nf6 · 29,631 games
- Indian Defense: Normal Variation · 1...Nf6 2.c4 · 22,243 games
- Queen's Pawn Game (D00) · 1...d5 · 11,560 games
- Queen's Gambit · 1...d5 2.c4 · 8,858 games
- Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian · 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 · 7,325 games
- Indian Defense: West Indian Defense · 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 · 6,337 games
- Indian Defense: Knights Variation · 1...Nf6 2.Nf3 · 5,074 games
- Nimzo-Indian Defense · 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 · 4,729 games
- King's Indian Defense · 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 · 4,545 games
- Slav Defense · 1...d5 2.c4 c6 · 4,073 games
- Queen's Gambit Declined · 1...d5 2.c4 e6 · 3,217 games
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation · 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 · 2,814 games
- Slav Defense: Modern Line · 1...d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 · 2,574 games
- Grünfeld Defense · 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 · 2,262 games
- Queen's Indian Defense · 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 · 2,185 games
- Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation · 1...d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 · 2,147 games
- King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation · 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 · 2,024 games
- Zukertort Variation · 1...d5 2.Nf3 · 1,968 games
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System · 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 · 1,893 games
- King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation · 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 · 1,879 games
- Horwitz Defense · 1...e6 · 1,773 games
- East Indian Defense · 1...Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 · 1,714 games
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation · 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 · 1,555 games
- Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation · 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 · 1,453 games
Played most often by
As White
- Mamedyarov,S 2,003
- Grischuk,A 1,251
- Carlsen,M 1,183
As Black
- Nakamura,Hi 1,673
- Carlsen,M 1,383
- Grischuk,A 1,145
Games per decade
- 1840s 1
- 1850s 12
- 1860s 8
- 1870s 6
- 1880s 29
- 1890s 223
- 1900s 578
- 1910s 362
- 1920s 1,133
- 1930s 1,055
- 1940s 555
- 1950s 1,303
- 1960s 1,525
- 1970s 1,079
- 1980s 2,025
- 1990s 3,935
- 2000s 5,536
- 2010s 9,421
- 2020s 17,024
Master games on this line
| White | Black | Result | Year | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vachier Lagrave,M | Klukin,Kirill | 0-1 | 2026 | Titled Tue 17th Mar 2026 |
| Klukin,Kirill | Carlsen,M | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | Titled Tue 13th Jan 2026 |
| Caruana,F | Durarbayli,Vasif | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | Naroditsky Mem Blitz 2026 |
| Gukesh,D | Keymer,Vincent | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | 14th Norway Chess 2026 |
| Nakamura,Hi | Kollars,Dmitrij | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | 2nd 3-0 Thu 22nd Jan 2026 |
| Erigaisi,Arjun | Ohanyan,Emin | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | Titled Tue 10th Mar 2026 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the Queen's Pawn Game?
It is the opening with ECO code A40, reached after 1.d4. It belongs to the Queen's Pawn Game family.
Is the Queen's Pawn Game good for White or for Black?
In 45,810 master games on this line White wins 34%, 38% are drawn and Black wins 28%. 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 Pawn Game?
1...Nf6 — played in 29,631 of the master games on this line, which leads into Indian Defense.
Which grandmasters play the Queen's Pawn Game?
On the White side Mamedyarov,S (2,003), Grischuk,A (1,251), Carlsen,M (1,183); on the Black side Nakamura,Hi (1,673), Carlsen,M (1,383), Grischuk,A (1,145).
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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