Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line
14K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · All ratings · All speeds
57.4%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 58.0%.
Measured over 14K games at this level and clock.
A strong choice for White at this level and clock.
Outcomes for White
Draw 15.0 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 14K games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 14K
- Best context
- 60.6% at 1800-1999 Blitz
- Worst context
- 55.0% at 2000-2199 Bullet
- Average game length
- 41 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 85.0%
- Draws
- 15.0%
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.
Extra Analysis
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Where it holds · White score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for White, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It falls away as the rating rises: 64.5% at 0-999, 60.4% 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: 67.7% expected score (7 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 61.2% expected score (3 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 48.2% expected score (26 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 44.3% expected score (16 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 43.3% expected score (6 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 56.0% expected score (108 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 53.9% expected score (77 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 80.2% expected score (20 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 53.1% expected score (260 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 60.7% expected score (237 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 72.6% expected score (54 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 73.1% expected score (5 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 57.7% expected score (477 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 58.4% expected score (612 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 56.6% expected score (105 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (10 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 59.0% expected score (660 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 60.6% expected score (1,205 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 58.9% expected score (184 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 70.0% expected score (16 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 55.0% expected score (606 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 57.6% expected score (1,504 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 63.5% expected score (243 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 69.0% expected score (17 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 55.9% expected score (831 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 55.5% expected score (2,821 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 59.4% expected score (315 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 54.4% expected score (10 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 56.0% expected score (1,355 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 56.4% expected score (1,551 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 59.0% expected score (326 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 70.2% expected score (125 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line scores 57.4% for White — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 56.7% and 58.0% — from 14K 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
- 14K+ 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, Blockade Line win rate?
Playing the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line, White wins 49.8%, draws 15.0% and loses 35.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.4%. It rests on 14K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line perform best?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line performs best for White at 1800-1999, with an Expected Score of 60.0% (2.1K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line scores higher in Rapid: an Expected Score of 57.2% in Blitz (8.0K games) against 60.7% in Rapid (1.3K games).
How sharp is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line has a sharpness score of 85.0 (moderately decisive), meaning 85.0% of games end decisively. Average game length is 41 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, White wins 56.4%, draws 2.7% and loses 40.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.8%. It rests on 205 Lichess games, which average 30 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, White wins 57.5%, draws 2.1% and loses 40.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 58.6%. It rests on 556 Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, White wins 56.0%, draws 3.9% and loses 40.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 58.0%. It rests on 1.2K Lichess games, which average 34 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, White wins 57.8%, draws 4.5% and loses 37.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 60.0%. It rests on 2.1K Lichess games, which average 36 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, White wins 54.5%, draws 6.3% and loses 39.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.6%. It rests on 2.4K Lichess games, which average 38 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, White wins 51.8%, draws 8.1% and loses 40.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 55.9%. It rests on 4.0K Lichess games, which average 40 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate at 2500+?
At 2500+, White wins 35.4%, draws 43.1% and loses 21.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.0%. It rests on 3.4K Lichess games, which average 54 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, White wins 48.6%, draws 15.4% and loses 36.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 56.3%. It rests on 4.3K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, White wins 50.8%, draws 12.8% and loses 36.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.2%. It rests on 8.0K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, White wins 48.5%, draws 24.4% and loses 27.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 60.7%. It rests on 1.3K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line win rate in Classical?
In Classical, White wins 48.0%, draws 41.5% and loses 10.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 68.7%. It rests on 183 Lichess games.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line a good opening?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Two Knights Defense, Blockade Line is good for White. Across all ratings, White wins 49.8% of its games and loses 35.1%. It performs best at 1800-1999. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.