Openings › Rankings › Openings vs 1.d4, Lichess 2100+
Best Openings vs 1.d4, Lichess 2100+: Ranked by Results
At 2100+ (Lichess rating), the Black opening against 1.d4 highest-ranked by conservative score with 300+ games in this sample is the Rat Defense: English Rat: 52.6% (±3.3) in 843 games, a conservative score of 49.3%. 44 openings are ranked. No Black opening against 1.d4 has a conservative score above 50% at this level.
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 ranks below the 40 shown (the CSV has all ranked entries), if it does not meet this list's rule, or if it has too few games here. Missing does not mean weak.
The ranking: 40 of 44 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 2100+ (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 | Rat Defense: English Rat | 1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 | Old Indian Defense | 843 | 52.6% ±3.3 | 49.3% |
| 2 | Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense | 1.d4 g6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 10,771 | 49.6% ±0.9 | 48.7% |
| 3 | Benoni Defense: Old Benoni | 1.d4 c5 | Queen's Pawn Game | 16,879 | 49.1% ±0.7 | 48.4% |
| 4 | Englund Gambit | 1.d4 e5 | Queen's Pawn Game | 7,737 | 49.3% ±1.1 | 48.2% |
| 5 | Tarrasch Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation | 611 | 51.6% ±3.8 | 47.8% |
| 6 | Benoni Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 3,962 | 49.0% ±1.5 | 47.5% |
| 7 | Benko Gambit | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 | Benoni Defense | 1,562 | 49.9% ±2.4 | 47.5% |
| 8 | East Indian Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 | Indian Defense: Knights Variation | 6,116 | 48.6% ±1.2 | 47.4% |
| 9 | Indian Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 61,921 | 47.6% ±0.4 | 47.2% |
| 10 | Indian Defense: Wade-Tartakower Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 | Indian Defense: Knights Variation | 2,507 | 48.8% ±1.9 | 46.9% |
| 11 | Indian Defense: Spielmann-Indian | 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 | Indian Defense: Knights Variation | 2,110 | 48.9% ±2.1 | 46.8% |
| 12 | English Defense | 1.d4 b6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 3,576 | 48.0% ±1.6 | 46.4% |
| 13 | Horwitz Defense | 1.d4 e6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 18,105 | 47.0% ±0.7 | 46.3% |
| 14 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation | 7,212 | 47.3% ±1.1 | 46.2% |
| 15 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 | Queen's Gambit | 784 | 49.6% ±3.4 | 46.2% |
| 16 | Benoni Defense: Hromádka System | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 d6 | Benoni Defense | 659 | 49.85% ±3.77 | 46.08% |
| 17 | Indian Defense: West Indian Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 8,246 | 47.08% ±1.04 | 46.04% |
| 18 | Queen's Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation | 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 | Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation | 10,668 | 46.9% ±0.9 | 46.0% |
| 19 | Queen's Pawn Game: Anglo-Slav Opening | 1.d4 c6 2.c4 d6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 995 | 49.0% ±3.0 | 46.0% |
| 20 | Slav Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 | Queen's Gambit | 10,422 | 46.8% ±0.9 | 45.9% |
| 21 | Nimzo-Indian Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 3,737 | 47.4% ±1.5 | 45.9% |
| 22 | Queen's Gambit Declined | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 | Queen's Gambit | 11,570 | 46.6% ±0.9 | 45.7% |
| 23 | Mikenas Defense | 1.d4 Nc6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 2,073 | 47.7% ±2.1 | 45.6% |
| 24 | Queen's Gambit Accepted | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 | Queen's Gambit | 2,436 | 47.3% ±1.9 | 45.4% |
| 25 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 | Queen's Gambit | 1,080 | 48.1% ±2.9 | 45.2% |
| 26 | Bogo-Indian Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ | Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian | 949 | 48.3% ±3.1 | 45.2% |
| 27 | Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense | 1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nf6 | Benoni Defense: Old Benoni | 861 | 48.4% ±3.3 | 45.1% |
| 28 | Dutch Defense | 1.d4 f5 | Queen's Pawn Game | 4,254 | 46.6% ±1.5 | 45.1% |
| 29 | Indian Defense: Budapest Gambit | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 | Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 1,422 | 47.5% ±2.5 | 45.0% |
| 30 | Dutch Defense: Classical Variation | 1.d4 f5 2.c4 e6 | Dutch Defense | 916 | 48.0% ±3.1 | 44.9% |
| 31 | Dutch Defense: Normal Variation | 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 | Dutch Defense | 1,034 | 47.6% ±2.9 | 44.7% |
| 32 | Queen's Pawn Game: Krause Variation | 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 | Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation | 1,189 | 47.0% ±2.8 | 44.2% |
| 33 | Grünfeld Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 | King's Indian Defense | 1,900 | 46.0% ±2.2 | 43.8% |
| 34 | Queen's Pawn Game: Rossolimo Variation | 1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 g6 | Queen's Pawn Game | 723 | 47.2% ±3.5 | 43.7% |
| 35 | Benoni Defense: Modern Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 | Benoni Defense | 837 | 47.0% ±3.3 | 43.7% |
| 36 | Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation | 2,015 | 45.5% ±2.1 | 43.4% |
| 37 | Englund Gambit: Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit | 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 d6 | Englund Gambit | 1,069 | 46.2% ±2.9 | 43.3% |
| 38 | Englund Gambit: Main Line | 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 | Englund Gambit | 765 | 46.7% ±3.4 | 43.3% |
| 39 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 | Queen's Gambit | 3,438 | 44.9% ±1.6 | 43.3% |
| 40 | Queen's Gambit Declined: Austrian Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c5 | Queen's Gambit | 506 | 47.1% ±4.2 | 42.9% |
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: 44 openings (CSV), with each of the opponent's moves and its share, released under CC0.