Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense
52K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
47.8%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 48.2%.
Measured over 52K games at this level and clock.
Black comes out behind here — there are better weapons in the list.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 5.9 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 52K games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 52K
- Best context
- 48.9% at 1200-1399 Bullet
- Worst context
- 43.6% at 2500+ Blitz
- Average game length
- 37 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 94.1%
- Draws
- 5.9%
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: 57.1% at 0-999, 44.9% 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: 54.0% expected score (49 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 50.0% expected score (37 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 67.4% expected score (10 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 52.3% expected score (301 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 55.1% expected score (176 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 61.6% expected score (46 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 48.9% expected score (912 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 47.8% expected score (703 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 48.5% expected score (134 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 31.9% expected score (4 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 47.5% expected score (2,114 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 46.9% expected score (2,083 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 48.3% expected score (410 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 53.3% expected score (14 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 48.2% expected score (3,911 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 48.5% expected score (4,909 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 48.9% expected score (819 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 46.1% expected score (50 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 48.0% expected score (4,198 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 47.7% expected score (7,718 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 48.1% expected score (1,293 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 44.4% expected score (79 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 47.6% expected score (3,570 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 48.7% expected score (7,064 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 48.4% expected score (1,164 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 55.3% expected score (55 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 47.8% expected score (2,501 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 46.2% expected score (4,593 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 44.1% expected score (618 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 42.2% expected score (24 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 47.2% expected score (1,389 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 43.6% expected score (1,032 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 46.4% expected score (135 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 42.3% expected score (31 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense scores 47.8% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 47.4% and 48.2% — from 52K 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
- 52K+ 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: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate?
Playing the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Black wins 44.8%, draws 5.9% and loses 49.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.8%. It rests on 52K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense perform best?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense performs best for Black at 1000-1199, with an Expected Score of 54.1% (523 games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 47.7% in Blitz (28K games) against 47.9% in Rapid (4.6K games).
How sharp is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense has a sharpness score of 94.1 (decisive), meaning 94.1% of games end decisively. Average game length is 37 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate at 1000-1199?
At 1000-1199, Black wins 53.3%, draws 1.6% and loses 45.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.1%. It rests on 523 Lichess games, which average 29 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, Black wins 47.3%, draws 2.2% and loses 50.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.4%. It rests on 1.8K Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, Black wins 45.5%, draws 3.5% and loses 50.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.3%. It rests on 4.6K Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, Black wins 46.4%, draws 3.9% and loses 49.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.4%. It rests on 9.7K Lichess games, which average 34 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, Black wins 45.4%, draws 4.8% and loses 49.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.8%. It rests on 13K Lichess games, which average 36 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, Black wins 45.2%, draws 6.3% and loses 48.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.4%. It rests on 12K Lichess games, which average 38 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, Black wins 42.7%, draws 7.7% and loses 49.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 46.6%. It rests on 7.7K Lichess games, which average 41 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate at 2500+?
At 2500+, Black wins 35.3%, draws 20.7% and loses 44.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 45.6%. It rests on 2.6K Lichess games, which average 49 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, Black wins 45.8%, draws 4.2% and loses 50.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.9%. It rests on 19K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, Black wins 44.4%, draws 6.6% and loses 49.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.7%. It rests on 28K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, Black wins 43.8%, draws 8.2% and loses 48.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.9%. It rests on 4.6K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense win rate in Classical?
In Classical, Black wins 38.1%, draws 17.2% and loses 44.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 46.7%. It rests on 257 Lichess games.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense a good opening?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense is hard work for Black — it favours White. Across all ratings, Black wins 44.8% of its games and loses 49.3%. It performs best at 1000-1199. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.