Caissa Codex
D88

Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation 10…cxd4 11. cxd4

Chess diagram: Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation after 11. cxd4

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Statistics from Lichess

124,855 games: White 48.1% / Draw 8.6% / Black 43.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
43,07143K
24,32224K
16,53117K
13,57514K
12,62813K
4,5954,595
3,2013,201
3,1223,122

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.31 White is slightly better

Best play: 11... Bg4 12. f3 Bd7 13. Rb1 a6 14. h4 b5 15. Bd5 h5 16. Bg5

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation (ECO D88, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Classical Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O cxd4 11. cxd4 (11 moves).

In 124,855 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.1%, Black 43.4% and 8.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 11…Bg4, in 34% of those games.

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How to answer 11. cxd4

11…b6 scores best for Black: 51.2%, with Black winning 46.4% and White 44.0% of 14K games. The most played, 11…Bg4, scores 48.4% in 43K games, and 11…a6 scores lowest: 44.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 11…Bg4.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 7…c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O cxd4 11. cxd4, the position after Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Classical Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Spassky Variation (D88)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/grunfeld-defense-exchange-variation-spassky-variation-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/grunfeld-defense-exchange-variation-spassky-variation-2