Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation 7…c5 8. Rb1
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
144,288 games: White 50.9% / Draw 8.4% / Black 40.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 88,33688K | ||
| 27,29927K | ||
| 11,80412K | ||
| 10,07110K | ||
| 3,8843,884 | ||
| 1,4061,406 | ||
| 867867 | ||
| 336336 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.16 The position is about equal
Best play: 8... O-O 9. Be2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qa5+ 11. Bd2 Qxa2 12. O-O Bg4 13. Be3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation (ECO D85, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a chess opening that starts 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Rb1.
In 144,288 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.9%, Black 40.6% and 8.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…O-O, in 61% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 8. Rb1
The most played answer, 8…O-O, also scores best for Black: 46.5%, with Black winning 42.1% and White 49.0% of 88K games. Of the main answers, 8…Nc6 scores lowest: 41.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 8…O-O.
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation (D85)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/grunfeld-defense-exchange-variation-modern-exchange-variation-3