Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Classical Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
658,288 games: White 46.8% / Draw 7.2% / Black 46.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 429,740430K | ||
| 221,188221K | ||
| 1,7031,703 | ||
| 1,5871,587 | ||
| 1,1831,183 | ||
| 902902 | ||
| 647647 | ||
| 384384 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.27 The position is about equal
Best play: 7... c5 8. Ne2 O-O 9. Be3 Nc6 10. O-O b6 11. Qd2 Bb7 12. Rac1
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 51% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2,499 | |
| 1400–1799 | 68K | |
| 1800–2199 | 442K | |
| 2200 and up | 159K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,089 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Carlsen, M. – So, W.
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Classical Variation (ECO D86, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 (7 moves).
In 658,288 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.8%, Black 46.0% and 7.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…c5, in 65% of those games.
It branches into 7 named variations; the most played are Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation and Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation. In all, 9 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Classical Variation
The most played answer, 7…c5, also scores best for Black: 49.8%, with Black winning 46.1% and White 46.5% of 430K games. Of the main answers, 7…O-O scores lowest: 49.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…c5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Classical Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.022% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.028% (its peak: 0.036% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.028% | 10,064 |
| 2017 | 0.034% | 18,883 |
| 2018 | 0.036% | 28,509 |
| 2019 | 0.032% | 39,812 |
| 2020 | 0.032% | 93,084 |
| 2021 | 0.025% | 96,146 |
| 2022 | 0.025% | 92,678 |
| 2023 | 0.023% | 86,608 |
| 2024 | 0.022% | 79,403 |
| 2025 | 0.022% | 77,066 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.022% | 24,450 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (7)
- D86 Exchange Variation, Larsen Variation 7…O-O 8. Ne2 Qd7
- D87 Exchange Variation, Seville Variation 7…c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Bg4 11. f3 Na5 12. Bxf7+
- D86 Exchange Variation, Simagin's Improved Variation 7…O-O 8. Ne2 Nc6
- D86 Exchange Variation, Simagin's Lesser Variation 7…O-O 8. Ne2 b6
- D87 Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation 7…c5 8. Ne2 O-O
- D88 Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation 7…c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O cxd4 11. cxd4
- D89 Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation 7…c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Bg4 11. f3 Na5 12. Bd3 cxd4 13. cxd4 Be6
All 9 named lines that continue from here
- D86 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Larsen Variation 8 moves
- D87 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Seville Variation 12 moves
- D86 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Simagin's Improved Variation 8 moves
- D86 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Simagin's Lesser Variation 8 moves
- D87 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation 8 moves
- D88 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation 11 moves
- D89 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation 13 moves
- D86 Larsen Variation 9 moves
- D89 Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Sokolsky Variation 14 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Classical Variation (D86)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/grunfeld-defense-exchange-variation-classical-variation