Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation
A45 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5
White scores 52.5% here across 899 club games — but the 28.6% who answer Nf3 score 47.3%, 5 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 899 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 52.5% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bf4 | 391 | 43.5% | 68.2% | holds up |
| Nf3 | 257 | 28.6% | 47.3% | below the line |
| Bg5 | 117 | 13.0% | 39.3% | below the line |
| e3 | 35 | 3.9% | 28.6% | below the line |
| f3 | 30 | 3.3% | 18.3% | below the line |
| g3 | 25 | 2.8% | 42.0% | below the line |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.
Related openings
- Indian Defense A45