The Chekhover Variation is 1. 2. 3. 4.: you recapture with the queen instead of the knight. Your queen sits in the center, a target for any knight that lands on c6, and strong players answer that by pinning it with 5.. Between 900 and 1700 you score 50% with it (N = 9,471 Lichess games, September 2026).
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.
2 named lines in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
After 4., 67 in 100 opponents at your level hit the queen with , 17 play and 7 go for . Among online players rated over 2200, drops to 44 in 100 and rises to 35. Against , your choices split from the strong players': at your level 42 in 100 play 5., the pick of 78 in 100 strong players, while 21 pull the queen back with 5.. With 5. you score 53.2 in 100; with 5., 47.7. From there the game barely branches: 79 in 100 opponents reply , and then 91 in 100 trade with 6..
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66.7% | 50.0% | 44.0% | 61.4% | |
| 16.8% | 51.9% | 34.9% | 31.3% | |
| 7.4% | 49.3% | 2.2% | no data | |
| 5.5% | 46.5% | 15.5% | 7.2% | |
| 2.0% | 49.7% | 0.5% | no data | |
| 0.7% | 39.2% | 2.6% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42.2% | 53.2% | 78.3% | 62.7% | |
| 21.4% | 47.7% | no data | no data | |
| 14.8% | 49.3% | 0.3% | no data | |
| 6.9% | 50.0% | 14.8% | 17.6% | |
| 4.7% | 46.8% | no data | no data | |
| 3.9% | 51.3% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 6.0% | 19.6% | |
| no data | no data | 0.6% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78.9% | 52.7% | 82.9% | 62.5% | |
| 6.9% | 57.2% | 7.7% | 37.5% | |
| 6.7% | 51.8% | 4.5% | no data | |
| 3.8% | 55.3% | 2.5% | no data | |
| 2.6% | 48.5% | 2.1% | no data | |
| 1.0% | 56.0% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.4% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91.2% | 53.4% | 88.0% | 55.0% | |
| 2.4% | 48.9% | no data | no data | |
| 2.2% | 53.6% | no data | no data | |
| 1.7% | 62.1% | 11.0% | 45.0% | |
| 1.3% | 36.0% | no data | no data | |
| 1.1% | 61.9% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 1.0% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82.9% | 52.0% | 76.4% | 100.0% | |
| 17.1% | 58.9% | 23.6% | no data |
The strong-player line is 5. 6. 7. 8.. The point is to keep your queen on d4 without wasting moves on it. To get there you give up your light-squared bishop for the knight that attacks her, and after that everything turns on your e4 pawn.
attacks the queen, and only the f3 knight defends her. 5. lets her stay put: Black's d-pawn has moved from d7 to d6, so the b5–e8 diagonal is open and the c6 knight is pinned to its king. blocks that diagonal, and the knight threatens your queen again. 6. settles it for good: bishop for knight, and nothing is left attacking your queen. The cost is the bishop pair, which goes to your opponent.
takes back with the bishop, which now aims at e4 from c6. At that moment only your queen guards the pawn. 7. adds a second defender and a second attacker: two against two. 8., played by 99 in 100 strong players here, hits the f6 knight a second time, alongside the queen. If you take on f6, you remove an attacker of e4 and your opponent has to recapture with a pawn, because with the pawn still on e7 the black queen can't reach f6. Either pawn recapture leaves two pawns on the f-file.
That is why strong players answer 81 times in 100: the pawn clears e7, so the queen now covers f6 and the f8 bishop has a way out. At your level only 27 in 100 opponents find it. After 8. nothing stands between your king and the a1 rook, so you can castle either way; castle long and your rook lands on d1, behind the queen and facing the d6 pawn.
If your opponent recaptures on c6 with the pawn, , the bishop stays on d7, far from e4, and the a7 pawn is left with no neighbor on the b-file. At your level 17 in 100 do this, and there you score 58.9 in 100.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 3,733 | 44.4% | |
| 1,647 | 77.8% | |
| 1,363 | 82.4% | |
| 1,117 | 87.4% | |
| 969 | 76.7% | |
| 734 | 82.8% | |
| 583 | 71.5% | |
| 692 | 98.8% |
After 5. , nothing defends your e4 pawn: the queen went back to d1 and the b1 knight is still at home. 6. pins the c6 knight but leaves e4 hanging: 7. 8. 9., and you're a pawn down. Play 6. instead, which guards e4. 12 in 100 play 6.; you score 48.2 against 55.4.
12 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.9 pawns of advantage. It scores 48.2%; scores 55.4%.
After 5. , 6. pushes a pawn that is attacked twice and defended only by the f3 knight. Next comes 7. : the check also hits your knight, and after 8. 9. you're a pawn down. Play 6.. 4.5 in 100 choose 6.; at your level the punishment is mild: you score 52 against 55.4.
5 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.2 pawns of advantage. It scores 52.0%; scores 55.4%.
After , 5. opens the game with only one knight out. hits queen and pawn, and after 6. 7. 8. your queen has moved three times and the e5 pawn, attacked twice, has only the f3 knight defending it. Play 5.. 14 in 100 play 5.; with it you score 43 in 100.
14 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.7 pawns of advantage.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 4,385 | ||
| 1,422 | ||
| Not castled | 1,382 | |
| Not castled | Not castled | 837 |
| Not castled | 664 | |
| Not castled | 380 |
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 56 | ||
| 13 | ||
| Not castled | 6 | |
| Not castled | 4 | |
| 3 | ||
| Not castled | Not castled | 1 |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · B53
2 amateur games · White's score: 50.0%