Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation
25K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · All ratings · All speeds
54.9%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 55.5%.
Measured over 25K games at this level and clock.
A strong choice for White at this level and clock.
Outcomes for White
Draw 4.2 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 25K games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 25K
- Best context
- 61.2% at 2500+ Bullet
- Worst context
- 51.2% at 1600-1799 Blitz
- Average game length
- 34 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 95.8%
- Draws
- 4.2%
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 gets better as the rating rises: 50.1% at 0-999, 64.5% 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: 60.2% expected score (28 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 46.8% expected score (29 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 43.3% expected score (6 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 58.4% expected score (142 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 56.4% expected score (180 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 55.1% expected score (38 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 52.1% expected score (335 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 51.8% expected score (589 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 47.4% expected score (132 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 64.3% expected score (2 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 57.7% expected score (5 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 52.5% expected score (748 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 54.8% expected score (1,293 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 55.8% expected score (339 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 32.4% expected score (7 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 42.4% expected score (5 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 53.8% expected score (1,063 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 51.2% expected score (2,314 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 52.9% expected score (522 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 42.8% expected score (33 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 60.6% expected score (8 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 52.1% expected score (1,215 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 51.9% expected score (2,083 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 49.2% expected score (496 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 59.4% expected score (41 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 56.2% expected score (1,324 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 54.3% expected score (3,085 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 51.0% expected score (308 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 41.1% expected score (21 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 59.4% expected score (2,962 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 56.1% expected score (2,682 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 58.2% expected score (163 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 59.6% expected score (9 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 61.2% expected score (2,107 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 56.4% expected score (360 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 76.0% expected score (12 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation scores 54.9% for White — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 54.4% and 55.5% — from 25K 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
- 25K+ 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: Miles Variation win rate?
Playing the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation, White wins 52.8%, draws 4.2% and loses 43.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.9%. It rests on 25K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation perform best?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation performs best for White at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 60.6% (2.5K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation scores higher in Blitz: an Expected Score of 53.7% in Blitz (13K games) against 52.4% in Rapid (2.0K games).
How sharp is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation has a sharpness score of 95.8 (very decisive), meaning 95.8% of games end decisively. Average game length is 34 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate at 1000-1199?
At 1000-1199, White wins 56.1%, draws 2.1% and loses 41.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.2%. It rests on 361 Lichess games, which average 28 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, White wins 50.0%, draws 2.8% and loses 47.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.4%. It rests on 1.1K Lichess games, which average 28 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, White wins 52.6%, draws 2.9% and loses 44.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.1%. It rests on 2.4K Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, White wins 50.2%, draws 3.6% and loses 46.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.1%. It rests on 3.9K Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, White wins 49.9%, draws 3.7% and loses 46.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.7%. It rests on 3.8K Lichess games, which average 34 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, White wins 52.1%, draws 4.9% and loses 43.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.6%. It rests on 4.7K Lichess games, which average 35 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, White wins 55.4%, draws 4.8% and loses 39.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.8%. It rests on 5.8K Lichess games, which average 36 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate at 2500+?
At 2500+, White wins 57.9%, draws 5.4% and loses 36.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 60.6%. It rests on 2.5K Lichess games, which average 37 moves.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, White wins 55.4%, draws 3.3% and loses 41.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.1%. It rests on 9.9K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, White wins 51.4%, draws 4.6% and loses 44.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.7%. It rests on 13K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, White wins 49.4%, draws 5.9% and loses 44.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.4%. It rests on 2.0K Lichess games.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation win rate in Classical?
In Classical, White wins 44.6%, draws 10.8% and loses 44.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.0%. It rests on 114 Lichess games.
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation a good opening?
The Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation is good for White. Across all ratings, White wins 52.8% of its games and loses 43.0%. It performs best at 2500+. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.