Caissa Codex
A12

Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation

Chess diagram: Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation after 4. b3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

65,977 games: White 50.2% / Draw 7.1% / Black 42.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
London Defensive System 22,68023K
Torre System 13,12013K
Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, with g3 12,49212K
9,5879,587
2,9232,923
with dxc4 2,2902,290
821821
448448

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.03 The position is about equal

Best play: 4... Bg4 5. Bg2 Nbd7 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. O-O e6 8. d3 Be7 9. h3

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

Overview

Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation (ECO A12, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, reached after 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 d5 4. b3 (4 moves).

In 65,977 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.2%, Black 42.8% and 7.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bf5, in 34% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, London Defensive System and Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, Torre System.

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How to play against the Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation

4…Bg4 (Torre System) scores best for Black: 47.7%, with Black winning 44.1% and White 48.8% of 13K games. The most played, 4…Bf5, scores 47.7% in 23K games, and 4…e6 scores lowest: 43.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…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

Variations (3)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 d5 4. b3, the position after English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation (A12)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/reti-opening-anglo-slav-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/reti-opening-anglo-slav-variation