Chess opening · ECO D04
Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System
The Colle System starts with a quiet pawn move, 3.e3. White builds a setup that rarely changes from game to game: Bd3, castling, Nbd2 and c3. Then the e-pawn goes forward again, this time to e4, opening the center while White's pieces are already in place. The setup is easy to learn, and Black's job is to make the e4 push less effective.
- Rank by weighted share
- #133 of 159
Key moves
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3
- 3. e3The pawn opens a path for the f1 bishop to reach d3 and supports d4. It also closes the diagonal of the c1 bishop, which often stays at home until the e4 break or a later b3 and Bb2 brings it into play.
Building toward e4
White's knight goes to d2 rather than c3 so that the c-pawn can support d4 from c3, and so that the knight backs up e4. Once e4 leads to trades in the center, the bishop on d3 gets an open diagonal toward h7, the square in front of a castled black king.
Black's light bishop gets out first
Black has not played ...e6 yet, so the c8 bishop can come out with ...Bg4 or ...Bf5 before White's Bd3. With the e2 square now empty, ...Bg4 pins the f3 knight to the queen on d1. The move ...Bf5 contests the very diagonal the d3 bishop wants.
Black can also choose ...e6 and ...c5 instead, hitting d4 and keeping the bishop on c8 for later.
The classical Colle position
3... e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. O-O O-O
Both sides have castled with mirror-like setups. White's next step is usually to prepare the e4 push, while Black's c5 pawn keeps pressure on d4 and can trade on d4 whenever Black chooses.
Top replies by rating
Nc6 tops the two lowest bands, and e6 leads from 1400 up. Bg4 sits in the top three through 1999, then Bf5 replaces it at 2000 and up.
| Rating | Top | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1200 | Nc6 36% | Bg4 25% | e6 20% |
| 1200–1399 | Nc6 23% | Bg4 22% | e6 21% |
| 1400–1599 | e6 27% | Bg4 21% | Nc6 17% |
| 1600–1799 | e6 28% | Bg4 26% | Bf5 12% |
| 1800–1999 | e6 28% | Bg4 21% | Bf5 15% |
| 2000 and up | e6 23% | Bf5 22% | c6 17% |
Related openings
Try it on the board. The first coached game and three analyses are free.