D45

Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

173,822 games: White 49.8% / Draw 5.9% / Black 44.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	54,62655K
	20,23220K
	19,10319K
	15,97616K
	15,37815K
	12,63913K
	11,79912K
	9,5919,591

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.23 The position is about equal

Best play: 6. b3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Bd6 10. Re1 Re8

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 47% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	15K
1400–1799	73K
1800–2199	100K
2200 and up	27K
Masters, over the board	2,528

Master games

Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M. 1–0, 2017
Topalov, V. – Carlsen, M. 0–1, 2017
Nakamura, H. – Aronian, L. 0–1, 2013
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Nakamura, H. ½–½, 2024
Gelfand, B. – Aronian, L. ½–½, 2013

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

Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation (ECO D45, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 (5 moves).

In 173,822 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.8%, Black 44.3% and 5.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. Bd3, in 31% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation

6. b3 scores best for White: 56.0%, with White winning 52.8% and Black 40.8% of 16K games. The most played, 6. Bd3, scores 53.4% in 55K games, and 6. cxd5 scores lowest: 50.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. b3.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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 Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.0062% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.0091% (its peak: 0.01% in 2017).

0.0091%0.0062%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0091%	3,265
2017	0.01%	5,548
2018	0.0093%	7,306
2019	0.0084%	10,430
2020	0.0073%	21,473
2021	0.0063%	24,565
2022	0.0064%	23,912
2023	0.0062%	23,164
2024	0.0062%	22,053
2025	0.0062%	21,390
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0064%	7,012

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation (D45)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-accelerated-meran-variation