Openings › Rankings › Openings vs 1.d4, Lichess 1200–1499
Best Openings vs 1.d4, Lichess 1200–1499: Ranked by Results
At 1200–1499 (Lichess rating), the Black opening against 1.d4 highest-ranked by conservative score with 300+ games in this sample is the Englund Gambit: Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit: 51.6% (±1.5) in 3,949 games, a conservative score of 50.1%. 38 openings are ranked.
This list's rule: Openings of up to three moves for Black against 1.d4, where each of White's moves on the way is played in at least 20% of games at this level.
An opening may be missing from this page if it does not meet this list's rule or if it has too few games here. Missing does not mean weak.
- Openings after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 are not listed at this level: White answers 1.d4 d5 with 2.Nf3 in only 15.92% of games here, below this list's 20% rule.
The ranking: 38 of 38 openings that meet this rule with 300+ games at this level
Black's score = wins plus half the draws, for the side that plays the opening, in games of rated players at 1200–1499 (Lichess rating; average of both players). "±" is an approximate 95% margin based only on the number of games. The conservative score is Black's score minus that margin; the list is ordered by it, then by more games. "Part of" names the shorter line with its own entry that this one continues. Openings without a link have no page on this site yet.
Each row: rank, opening and conservative score; the moves; games and Black's score with its margin; the line it is part of.
| Rank | Opening | Moves | Part of | Games | Black's score | Conservative score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Englund Gambit: Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit | 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 d6 | Englund Gambit | 3,949 | 51.6% ±1.5 | 50.1% |
| 2 | Benoni Defense: Old Benoni | 1.d4 c5 | Queen's Pawn Game | 8,417 | 50.8% ±1.1 | 49.7% |
| 3 | Benoni Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 455 | 53.6% ±4.5 | 49.1% |
| 4 | Indian Defense: West Indian Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 3,322 | 50.7% ±1.7 | 49.0% |
| 5 | Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense | 1.d4 g6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 12,720 | 49.85% ±0.86 | 48.99% |
| 6 | Englund Gambit: Main Line | 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 | Englund Gambit | 3,172 | 50.69% ±1.71 | 48.98% |
| 7 | Indian Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 32,966 | 49.2% ±0.5 | 48.7% |
| 8 | Englund Gambit | 1.d4 e5 | Queen's Pawn Game | 25,999 | 49.1% ±0.6 | 48.5% |
| 9 | English Defense | 1.d4 b6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 5,872 | 48.7% ±1.3 | 47.4% |
| 10 | Dutch Defense: Normal Variation | 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 | Dutch Defense | 835 | 50.7% ±3.3 | 47.4% |
| 11 | Indian Defense: Budapest Gambit | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 569 | 51.4% ±4.1 | 47.3% |
| 12 | Dutch Defense: Classical Variation | 1.d4 f5 2.c4 e6 | Dutch Defense | 409 | 52.0% ±4.8 | 47.2% |
| 13 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 | Queen's Gambit | 1,342 | 49.6% ±2.6 | 47.0% |
| 14 | Grünfeld Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 | King's Indian Defense | 337 | 52.2% ±5.3 | 46.9% |
| 15 | Dutch Defense | 1.d4 f5 | Queen's Pawn Game | 4,294 | 48.0% ±1.5 | 46.5% |
| 16 | Horwitz Defense | 1.d4 e6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 28,028 | 47.0% ±0.6 | 46.4% |
| 17 | Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit | 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 | London System | 1,511 | 48.8% ±2.5 | 46.3% |
| 18 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation | 5,046 | 47.2% ±1.4 | 45.8% |
| 19 | Rat Defense: English Rat | 1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 | Old Indian Defense | 553 | 49.9% ±4.1 | 45.8% |
| 20 | Slav Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 | Queen's Gambit | 8,188 | 46.8% ±1.1 | 45.7% |
| 21 | Queen's Pawn Game: Anglo-Slav Opening | 1.d4 c6 2.c4 d6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 357 | 50.7% ±5.1 | 45.6% |
| 22 | Queen's Gambit Declined | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 | Queen's Gambit | 12,092 | 46.2% ±0.9 | 45.3% |
| 23 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Baltic Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Bf5 | Queen's Gambit | 1,923 | 47.2% ±2.2 | 45.0% |
| 24 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 | Queen's Gambit | 2,061 | 46.9% ±2.1 | 44.8% |
| 25 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 | Queen's Gambit | 9,086 | 45.6% ±1.0 | 44.6% |
| 26 | Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation | 1,390 | 47.0% ±2.6 | 44.4% |
| 27 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Austrian Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c5 | Queen's Gambit | 1,080 | 47.2% ±2.9 | 44.3% |
| 28 | Englund Gambit: Soller Gambit | 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 f6 | Englund Gambit | 1,239 | 46.6% ±2.7 | 43.9% |
| 29 | Tarrasch Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation | 662 | 46.8% ±3.7 | 43.1% |
| 30 | Nimzo-Indian Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 1,026 | 46.0% ±3.0 | 43.0% |
| 31 | Queen's Gambit Accepted | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 | Queen's Gambit | 12,519 | 43.5% ±0.9 | 42.6% |
| 32 | Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense | 1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nf6 | Benoni Defense: Old Benoni | 322 | 47.8% ±5.4 | 42.4% |
| 33 | Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, McDonnell Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 | Queen's Gambit Accepted: Saduleto Variation | 561 | 46.3% ±4.0 | 42.3% |
| 34 | Mikenas Defense | 1.d4 Nc6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 2,553 | 44.1% ±1.9 | 42.2% |
| 35 | Englund Gambit: Felbecker Gambit | 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 | Englund Gambit | 555 | 46.1% ±4.1 | 42.0% |
| 36 | Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Greco Variation | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 b5 | Queen's Gambit Accepted: Saduleto Variation | 825 | 44.8% ±3.3 | 41.5% |
| 37 | Slav Indian | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c6 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 318 | 45.8% ±5.4 | 40.4% |
| 38 | Polish Defense | 1.d4 b5 | Queen's Pawn Game | 433 | 43.8% ±4.6 | 39.2% |
How the list is made: every opening name of the free Lichess opening list (CC0) once, at the shortest line that has its own opening page by the site's rules (2,000 games and 300+ games in 3 of 5 rating levels), with 300+ games at this level and meeting this list's rule. The share of each of the opponent's moves is counted at the position where it is played, at this level; the CSV gives each of them with its games. Observed results, not causation: a rank describes what happened in these games and says nothing about why. Ratings are Lichess ratings, not Chess.com or FIDE ratings.
At this level: White Openings Openings vs 1.e4 Openings vs 1.d4 · All rankings · How the numbers are made
Download the whole list: 38 openings (CSV), with each of the opponent's moves and its share, released under CC0.