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Queen's Gambit · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Queen's Gambit like Magnus Carlsen

A Queen's Gambit repertoire built from 53 of Magnus Carlsen's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Magnus Carlsen chose most often. Where Magnus Carlsen has fewer than 3 games, the course takes the other top-50 players' most played move, then Stockfish's. Learn a line on the board, then each position comes back in a short daily review until it sticks.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Magnus Carlsen or Chess.com.

  • Magnus Carlsen was #2 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,413) and scored 89% against opponents averaging 3,087 in these games.
  • You play Magnus Carlsen's own move in 19 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#2

Chess.com

Rating

3,413

Games

53

in this opening

Score

89%

in these games

Opponents

3,087

average rating

More about Magnus Carlsen

Use arrow keys to navigate the board. Press Enter to select a piece, then use arrow keys and Enter to move. Press Escape to cancel a move.
Line 1 after 16 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 10% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.e3 h6 7.Bf4 O-O 8.Bd3 c5 9.Ne2 cxd4 10.Nxd4

  2. Line 2 · 7% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd3 h6 8.Bf4 c5 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.O-O cxd4 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.exd4 Bd6 13.Be5

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Rb1

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Nge2 Nd7 8.Ng3 Bg6 9.a3

  5. Line 5 · 6% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3

  6. Line 6 · 6% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nc3 h6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 Bd6 6.Qc1

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    2…dxc4 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bxc4 e6 5.Nf3

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.e3 h6 7.Bf4 O-O 8.Bd3 c5 9.Ne2 Nc6 10.O-O

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    2…c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Bd2

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    2…e6 3.Nc3 h6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 c5 6.e3

Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.

Magnus Carlsen's main line in the Queen's Gambit, move by move

The most common line at top level: 2…e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.e3 h6 7.Bf4 O-O 8.Bd3 c5 9.Ne2 cxd4 10.Nxd4.

  1. 2…e6 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 2…e6. At top level, this comes up about 70% of the time.
  2. 3.Nc3 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 3.Nc3 in 25 games, scoring 88%.
  3. 3…Nf6 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 3…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 36% of the time.
  4. 4.cxd5 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 4.cxd5 in 11 games, scoring 100%.
  5. 4…exd5 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 4…exd5. At top level, this comes up about 30% of the time.
  6. 5.Bg5 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 5.Bg5 in 8 games, scoring 100%.
  7. 5…Bb4 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 5…Bb4. At top level, this comes up about 15% of the time.
  8. 6.e3 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 6.e3 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  9. 6…h6 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 6…h6.
  10. 7.Bf4 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 7.Bf4 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  11. 7…O-O Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 7…O-O.
  12. 8.Bd3 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 8.Bd3 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  13. 8…c5 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 8…c5.
  14. 9.Ne2 Your move · Magnus Carlsen's games Magnus Carlsen played 9.Ne2 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  15. 9…cxd4 Reply · Magnus Carlsen's games A common reply here is 9…cxd4. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  16. 10.Nxd4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Magnus Carlsen play the Queen's Gambit?
After 1.d4 d5 2.c4, Magnus Carlsen's most common line is 2…e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.e3 h6 7.Bf4 O-O 8.Bd3 c5 9.Ne2 cxd4 10.Nxd4. At top level it comes up about 10% of the time.
Is this Magnus Carlsen's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Magnus Carlsen's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Queen's Gambit course based on?
53 of Magnus Carlsen's Chess.com blitz games in the Queen's Gambit as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,087. Magnus Carlsen scored 89% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
10 lines covering 40 positions, ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. The first 5 lines need no account; saving your progress with an email unlocks the rest, free.
Who is Magnus Carlsen?
GM Magnus Carlsen was ranked number 2 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,413 when this course was built.