The Stonewall Attack comes from 1. 2. 3.. From there you build a pawn wall on c3, d4, e3 and f4 with 4. and then 5.: two pawns cover e5 and your d3 bishop aims at h7. On Lichess (September 2026, N = 22,238 public games rated 900 to 1700), you score 53.4% with White. Online players rated over 2200 score 50 in 100 with White; as Black, they most often reply .
Lichess games from September 2026 (30,577,162 rated 900 to 1700) and 31,791 over-the-board games rated 2300+ from the last 12 months. Data updated: October 14, 2026.
1 named line in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
After 3., 32 in 100 opponents at your level reply , 27 play and 14 bring out . Online players rated over 2200 take another road: 44 in 100 strike with , a move only 8 in 100 choose at your level, and just 3 in 100 go . You score 53 in 100 against and 57 against ; against that drops to 49. Facing , even strong players score only 46 in 100 with White; at your level you score 51 there. You can also reach this position via 1. 2. 3., though far fewer games arrive by that order. The strong-player sample here is 840 online games.
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31.5% | 52.8% | 3.3% | no data | |
| 27.0% | 56.5% | 17.9% | no data | |
| 14.4% | 49.0% | 16.1% | no data | |
| 7.9% | 51.0% | 8.1% | no data | |
| 7.8% | 51.2% | 44.1% | no data | |
| 2.6% | 56.8% | 7.8% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70.0% | 54.6% | 94.5% | no data | |
| 15.8% | 43.4% | no data | no data | |
| 5.8% | 46.6% | 5.5% | no data | |
| 4.9% | 40.2% | no data | no data | |
| 2.4% | 63.1% | no data | no data | |
| 1.2% | 52.3% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51.8% | 52.1% | 81.1% | no data | |
| 20.7% | 57.4% | no data | no data | |
| 14.5% | 60.8% | 9.1% | no data | |
| 8.4% | 53.5% | 8.2% | no data | |
| 4.6% | 62.9% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 1.6% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56.3% | 57.9% | 83.6% | no data | |
| 27.9% | 47.0% | 2.5% | no data | |
| 13.2% | 44.6% | 2.5% | no data | |
| 2.6% | 59.1% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 9.4% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 2.0% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87.8% | 58.7% | 73.1% | no data | |
| 12.2% | 65.7% | 3.4% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 23.4% | no data |
Strong players follow 4. 5. 6. 7.. You end up with pawns on c3, d4, e3 and f4, the d3 bishop aimed at h7, and the e5 square covered by two pawns, d4 and f4. Every move in that order helps you build the wall before your opponent can push their e-pawn.
With your opponent hits d4. You answer 4., and after the pawn faces two attackers, the c5 pawn and the knight, with two defenders, c3 and e3. Your queen doesn't count: the d3 bishop blocks the file. Your opponent's queen can't join in either, since the d5 pawn stands in its way. Here 94 in 100 strong players choose 4., and 70 in 100 at your level. If you trade with 4., as 16 in 100 do, you give up your d4 pawn and score 43, against 55 with 4..
Next comes 5., before the g1 knight moves. If the knight went to f3 first, it would block the f-pawn. With the pawn on f4, two pawns guard e5, and your opponent's e-pawn can't land there without being captured. At your level 56 in 100 play it and score 58; with 5. that falls to 47, and with 5. to 45.
Your opponent develops before , because that pawn would shut the c8 bishop in. From g4 the bishop hits your queen through e2 and f3, which are both empty. 6., chosen by 92 in 100 strong players, blocks the diagonal, and the knight joins d4 and f4 in covering e5. It is tied down, though: if it moves, your queen is attacked again.
With your opponent frees the f8 bishop. You reply 7., which adds a defender to f3: if your opponent trades with , you take back with the knight and keep your kingside pawns intact. That knight also watches e4, the square none of your pawns can cover since 5.; now the d3 bishop and the knight look after it.
The price of the wall is your c1 bishop. With the pawn on e3 and the knight on d2, it has no free square at all.
At your level this line is rare, since only 8 in 100 opponents play . The usual reply is , which prepares to push the e-pawn to e5. The wall is still your goal, but three of the mistakes below come after , and in all three your d3 bishop ends up under attack.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 843 | 44.1% | |
| 364 | 94.5% | |
| 317 | 81.1% | |
| 244 | 83.6% | |
| 175 | 73.1% | |
| 125 | 92.0% | |
| 92 | 100.0% | |
| 81 | 58.0% |
After 4. , 5. allows , threatening against your d3 bishop and your f3 knight, which is tied to the queen. After 6. 7. 8. you're left with doubled pawns and can't castle. 12 in 100 play it and score 51, slightly more than with 5.: at your level it almost never gets punished.
12 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.7 pawns of advantage. It scores 50.6%; scores 48.7%.
After 4. , 5. trades off your d4 pawn, the base of the wall, and wins the pawn back with the knight hitting your d3 bishop. After 6. 7. 8. your knight ends up on the rim. 57 in 100 players at your level choose it, and you score 44 with it; 5. is better.
57 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.9 pawns of advantage.
After 4. , 5. does nothing against , which forks your d3 bishop and f3 knight. The bishop escapes with 6., but then takes the knight, and after 7. you can't castle short. You lose a piece for a pawn. 7 in 100 players at your level play it; you score 45, against 52 with 5..
7 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 7.5 pawns of advantage. It scores 45.0%; scores 52.3%.
After , 4. spends a tempo on the queenside and your opponent uses it in the centre: 5. , and that pawn takes f3 from your knight and d3 from your bishop. Play goes on 6. 7.. 4 in 100 play it and score 55.5, more than with 4.: at your level it rarely gets punished.
4 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.7 pawns of advantage. It scores 55.5%; scores 52.5%.
After 4. , 5. comes out before the f-pawn and blocks it. Then arrives, and your knight can't take it without leaving the queen to the g4 bishop. After 6. 7. your opponent grabs space. 45 in 100 play it and score 50, against 52 with 5. instead: at your level it often goes unpunished.
45 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.7 pawns of advantage. It scores 49.8%; scores 51.8%.
After 4. , 5. comes too late: the enemy pawn is already on e5, and hits your d3 bishop and takes f3 away from your g1 knight. After 6. 7. you end up giving the bishop for the knight with 8.. 8 in 100 play it and score 41; 5. is the better move.
8 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.2 pawns of advantage.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 12,278 | ||
| 2,470 | ||
| Not castled | 2,367 | |
| Not castled | 1,598 | |
| Not castled | Not castled | 1,353 |
| 991 |
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 1 |