The Tarrasch Defense starts with 1. 2. 3. . You hit d4 with your c-pawn, and when your opponent takes with 4., you take back with . That frees your c8 bishop, at the price of a d5 pawn that can end up isolated. Across 18,417 Lichess games rated 900–1700 (September 2026), you score 48%.
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.
26 named lines in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
The move you'll face most after is 4., chosen by 31 in 100 opponents at your level. Next come 4. with 26, 4. with 21 and 4. with 11. Among players rated 2200 and up, the trade on d5 is the norm: 76 in 100. Against 4., 88 in 100 players at your level recapture with , and 12 try the Schara Gambit, . The real split comes on move 5. Strong players continue 5. 89 times in 100, while at your level only 34 do, and the most popular reply is 5., with 41. You'll also reach this position, almost as often, via 1. 2. 3. .
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30.9% | 51.3% | 8.5% | no data | |
| 26.5% | 52.8% | 75.9% | 82.3% | |
| 20.7% | 52.6% | 14.2% | 17.7% | |
| 11.1% | 53.8% | 1.2% | no data | |
| 6.5% | 48.9% | 0.2% | no data | |
| 2.7% | 44.9% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87.6% | 52.5% | 69.4% | 77.1% | |
| 11.9% | 52.5% | 30.6% | 22.9% | |
| 0.6% | 45.2% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41.0% | 51.7% | 5.1% | no data | |
| 34.2% | 54.2% | 89.4% | 100.0% | |
| 17.7% | 50.5% | 3.5% | no data | |
| 3.1% | 53.1% | 1.1% | no data | |
| 2.9% | 50.4% | 0.3% | no data | |
| 1.0% | 54.5% | 0.5% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.3% | 52.2% | 19.7% | 21.2% | |
| 25.5% | 56.0% | 79.4% | 78.8% | |
| 15.7% | 54.4% | 1.0% | no data | |
| 9.9% | 58.5% | no data | no data | |
| 1.6% | 59.6% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42.5% | 54.8% | 11.4% | no data | |
| 34.9% | 50.4% | 19.0% | 73.7% | |
| 22.6% | 56.6% | 6.9% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 51.5% | 26.3% | |
| no data | no data | 9.7% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.8% | no data |
Against strong players the game goes 4. 5. 6. 7. , and then both sides castle. Everything revolves around your d5 pawn. Taking back with the e-pawn leaves you with pawns on c5 and d5 and nothing on the e-file, so once the c5 pawn gets traded, d5 stands alone. In return your pieces get open lines, and the d5 pawn covers c4 and e4.
opens your c8 bishop's diagonal all the way to h3. With the pawn still on e6, that bishop could only go to d7.
brings a second attacker to d4, alongside the c5 pawn. Your opponent holds it with the f3 knight and the queen. That's two against two: if either defender wanders off, d4 runs short of protection.
6. and 7. are your opponent's answer to d5. The bishop lands on the long diagonal, which runs through f3, e4 and d5. For now its own knight is in the way, but if you play after castling and the knight recaptures with 10., the g2 bishop bears straight down on d5. That's why comes before the bishop arrives: it puts a second defender on d5, next to your queen.
clears f8 so you can castle short. In 58 of every 100 games in this opening at your level, both sides castle kingside.
At your level the game often branches off at move 5. After , 41 in 100 opponents play 5.. Now your d5 pawn is isolated: the c3 knight and the d1 queen both hit it, and only your queen defends it. Count before you win back the c5 pawn. pushes the pawn forward, attacks the c3 knight and steps out of that knight's reach. Several of the mistakes below come from skipping that count.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 2,652 | 76.1% | |
| 2,006 | 69.5% | |
| 1,518 | 89.7% | |
| 1,763 | 79.4% | |
| 1,343 | 51.2% | |
| 678 | 96.6% | |
| 837 | 100.0% | |
| 698 | 54.9% |
After 4. 5., winning the pawn back with leaves d5 with one defender, your queen, against the c3 knight and the d1 queen. 6. follows and you're a pawn down. It's an inaccuracy: 75 in 100 play it and score 46 in 100. With , which hits the knight, you score 53.
75 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.8 pawns of advantage. It scores 45.7%; scores 52.9%.
Against 4., misses . That capture hits the c3 knight, and if your opponent takes back with 5., gains time on the queen. After , 5. lets them recapture with the knight. You let a big edge slip, though at your level it costs little: 37 in 100 play it and score 51, against 57 with .
37 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 3.3 pawns of advantage. It scores 51.3%; scores 56.9%.
After 6., trading queens with wins nothing back. After 7. the knight threatens to jump to c7 with check, forking your king and the a8 rook, so you spend covering that square, still a pawn down. keeps the queens on and develops. 88 in 100 play the trade and score 38 in 100.
88 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.2 pawns of advantage.
After 4. 5., pins the c3 knight, but the bishop is left hanging. 6. checks along the diagonal to e8 and hits b4 at the same time. You block with , and 7. picks up the bishop. It's a trap: nearly 10 in 100 fall for it and score 31 in 100, against 47 with .
10 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 7 pawns of advantage. It scores 30.6%; scores 47.3%.
After 4. 5., pulls your queen off d8, and d5 loses its defender. 6. hits the queen with a pawn, and after 7. your d5 pawn is isolated with nothing guarding it against the c3 knight and the d1 queen. 18 in 100 play it and score 41, against 48 with .
18 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 2 pawns of advantage. It scores 40.8%; scores 47.5%.
After 4. 5., taking back at once with leaves you an isolated d5 pawn guarded only by your queen, against the c3 knight and d1 queen. 6. wins it and hits your c5 bishop too. develops and adds an attacker on d5 first. An inaccuracy: 66 in 100 play it and score 43, against 47 with .
66 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 0.7 pawns of advantage. It scores 43.1%; scores 47.3%.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 10,638 | ||
| Not castled | Not castled | 2,474 |
| Not castled | 1,856 | |
| Not castled | 1,842 | |
| 531 | ||
| 472 |
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 116 | ||
| Not castled | 6 | |
| Not castled | Not castled | 5 |
| Not castled | 3 | |
| 3 | ||
| Not castled | 2 |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · 6,144 amateur games · 32 over the board
It arises from 4. 5. , a mirror-image position. You score 49 in 100 there.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · D32
2,302 amateur games · White's score: 54.3%
1. 2. 3. 4. · D32
460 amateur games · White's score: 53.4%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · D32
203 amateur games · White's score: 53.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. · D34
170 amateur games · White's score: 53.8%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · D33
132 amateur games · White's score: 53.8%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · D33
37 amateur games · White's score: 36.5%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · D33
37 amateur games · White's score: 51.4%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. · D33
28 amateur games · White's score: 67.9%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · D34
23 amateur games · White's score: 41.3%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. · D34
22 amateur games · White's score: 61.4%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · D33
17 amateur games · White's score: 64.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. · D34
16 amateur games · White's score: 68.8%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · D32
16 amateur games · White's score: 53.1%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. · D34
11 amateur games · White's score: 50.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. · D34
4 amateur games · White's score: 50.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. · D34
3 amateur games · White's score: 33.3%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. · D34
2 amateur games · White's score: 100.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · D32
2 amateur games · White's score: 0.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · D32
1 amateur game · White's score: 100.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. · D34
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. · D34
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. · D34
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. · D34
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · D33