--- title: "Rat Defense win rate" url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/rat-defense.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/rat-defense" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "White scored 51.7% in 7,409 Rat Defense games on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Rat Defense win rate > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. White scored 51.7% in 7,409 Rat Defense games on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines. White scored 51.7% (margin 1.1 points) in 7,409 rated games of the Rat Defense, ECO C00, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 42 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 0.5% of all games. ## How often does White win in the Rat Defense? White won 49.6% of the 7,409 games, 4.1% were drawn and Black won 46.2%. White's score of 51.7% is no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.2 points is inside the margin of 1.1 points. **Results of 7,409 Rat Defense games, 1 September 2026.** | Result | Games | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | White wins | 3,677 | 49.6% | | Draws | 307 | 4.1% | | Black wins | 3,425 | 46.2% | ## Does the Rat Defense score differently at different ratings? White's score is highest at 1600 to 1999 (52.3%) and lowest at 1200 to 1599 (52.1%). That spread of 0.2 points is inside the two margins added together, so the data show no clear difference between the bands. Players rated 1600 to 1999 choose the Rat Defense most often relative to their other openings, in 0.6 percent of their games. **White's score in the Rat Defense by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.** | Rating band | Games | Share of the band | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1200 to 1599 | 2,461 | 0.4% | 52.1% | 1.9 | | 1600 to 1999 | 3,336 | 0.6% | 52.3% | 1.7 | ## How does the Rat Defense do in blitz, rapid and classical? The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out. **White's score in the Rat Defense by time control, 1 September 2026.** | Time control | Games | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Blitz | 5,776 | 50.9% | 1.3 | | Rapid | 1,581 | 54.9% | 2.4 | ## What are the most played lines of the Rat Defense? The most played named line is the Small Center Defense, with 3,710 games and a White score of 51.8%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row. **Named lines of the Rat Defense, most played first, 1 September 2026.** | Line | Games | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Small Center Defense | 3,710 | 51.8% | 1.6 | | Harmonist | 1,685 | 54.4% | 2.3 | | Antal Defense | 862 | 50.1% | 3.3 | | English Rat | 664 | 46.9% | 3.7 | | Main line and less played lines | 488 | 51.3% | 4.4 | ## How were these opening statistics measured? Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the win rate of the Rat Defense?** White won 49.6%, drew 4.1% and lost 46.2% of 7,409 games, a White score of 51.7% with a margin of 1.1 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026. **Is the Rat Defense good for White?** At these ratings White's score was no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.2 points is inside the margin of 1.1 points. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening. **What is the most popular line of the Rat Defense?** The Small Center Defense was the most played named line, with 3,710 games, which is 50.1% of the Rat Defense games. ## Sources - [Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026](https://database.lichess.org/), read 2026-10-22 ## Related - [King's Gambit Declined win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/kings-gambit-declined.md) - [Blackmar-Diemer Gambit win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/blackmar-diemer-gambit.md) - [Dutch Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/dutch-defense.md) - [Nimzo-Indian Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/nimzo-indian-defense.md) - [King's Indian Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/kings-indian-defense.md) - [Center Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/center-game.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md) - [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md) - [Chess terms glossary](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md) - [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md) Last updated 2026-10-22. ## Related - [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md) - [Chess openings by rating: under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)