Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation
16K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
46.7%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 47.3%.
Measured over 16K games at this level and clock.
Black comes out behind here — there are better weapons in the list.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 5.6 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 16K games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 16K
- Best context
- 53.7% at 1600-1799 Blitz
- Worst context
- 41.6% at 2500+ Blitz
- Average game length
- 37 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 94.4%
- Draws
- 5.6%
Best and worst are the strongest and weakest squares with at least 500 games behind them. The table further down shows every square, including thinner ones.
Where it holds · Black score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for Black, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It falls away as the rating rises: 70.0% at 0-999, 40.4% at 2500+.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1000-1199 | — | — | — | ||
| 1200-1399 | — | — | |||
| 1400-1599 | — | ||||
| 1600-1799 | — | ||||
| 1800-1999 | — | ||||
| 2000-2199 | — | ||||
| 2200-2499 | — | ||||
| 2500+ | — | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 40.6% expected score (41 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 44.7% expected score (92 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 58.9% expected score (55 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 31.9% expected score (4 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 52.6% expected score (266 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 52.6% expected score (294 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 59.2% expected score (31 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (3 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 49.6% expected score (652 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 53.7% expected score (1,093 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 57.1% expected score (139 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 65.8% expected score (8 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 49.1% expected score (852 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 48.4% expected score (2,285 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 50.7% expected score (415 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 46.8% expected score (29 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 45.0% expected score (967 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 44.4% expected score (2,517 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 47.7% expected score (470 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 43.9% expected score (23 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 47.8% expected score (1,158 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 42.9% expected score (2,651 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 42.1% expected score (376 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (8 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 43.5% expected score (631 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 41.6% expected score (548 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 36.0% expected score (27 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation scores 46.7% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 46.0% and 47.3% — from 16K Lichess games. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
How the figures are made
- Whose games these are
- 16K+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt January 2026.
- Which games we count
- Rated games only — nothing casual.
- Both players within 200 rating points of each other. A mismatch tells you about the gap, not about the opening.
- At least 2 moves played.
- A game is filed under White’s rating.
- Why every number comes with a range
- A number off a few hundred games is a guess. The same number off millions is a fact. The range is what tells them apart, and it is what the lists rank on — so an opening cannot reach the top on a lucky run of forty games. The more games behind a figure, the narrower its range.
- How much we need before we say anything
- An opening page needs 100 games. A gambit needs 50 games at a rating before we will say whether it pays there. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate?
Playing the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation, Black wins 43.9%, draws 5.6% and loses 50.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 46.7%. It rests on 16K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation perform best?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation performs best for Black at 1600-1799, with an Expected Score of 52.6% (1.9K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation scores higher in Rapid: an Expected Score of 46.2% in Blitz (9.4K games) against 48.0% in Rapid (1.5K games).
How sharp is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation has a sharpness score of 94.4 (decisive), meaning 94.4% of games end decisively. Average game length is 37 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, Black wins 48.9%, draws 1.0% and loses 50.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.4%. It rests on 151 Lichess games, which average 26 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, Black wins 51.6%, draws 2.6% and loses 45.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.9%. It rests on 594 Lichess games, which average 30 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, Black wins 50.7%, draws 3.8% and loses 45.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.6%. It rests on 1.9K Lichess games, which average 33 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, Black wins 46.5%, draws 4.6% and loses 48.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.8%. It rests on 3.6K Lichess games, which average 35 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, Black wins 42.1%, draws 5.5% and loses 52.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 44.9%. It rests on 4.0K Lichess games, which average 37 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, Black wins 41.2%, draws 6.0% and loses 52.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 44.2%. It rests on 4.2K Lichess games, which average 37 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate at 2500+?
At 2500+, Black wins 35.8%, draws 13.2% and loses 51.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 42.4%. It rests on 1.2K Lichess games, which average 45 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, Black wins 45.3%, draws 3.9% and loses 50.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.3%. It rests on 4.7K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, Black wins 43.1%, draws 6.2% and loses 50.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 46.2%. It rests on 9.4K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, Black wins 44.4%, draws 7.1% and loses 48.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.0%. It rests on 1.5K Lichess games.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation a good opening?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense, Yugoslav Variation is hard work for Black — it favours White. Across all ratings, Black wins 43.9% of its games and loses 50.5%. It performs best at 1600-1799. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.