Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order
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Statistics from Lichess
8,560,997 games: White 51.0% / Draw 5.2% / Black 43.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 3,868,1433.9M | ||
| 1,036,1641M | ||
| 1,023,2881M | ||
| 1,022,6611M | ||
| Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit | 917,083917K | |
| 187,184187K | ||
| 146,494146K | ||
| 110,407110K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.30 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 Na6
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 45% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 836K | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.8M | |
| 1800–2199 | 5.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 645K | |
| Masters, over the board | 13K |
Master games
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Anand, V.
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Aronian, L. – Morozevich, A.
- Caruana, F. – Kramnik, V.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order (ECO D31, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 (3 moves).
In 8,560,997 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.0%, Black 43.8% and 5.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Nf3, in 45% of those games.
It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit and Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation. In all, 16 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 Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order
4. e4 (Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit) scores best for White: 57.3%, with White winning 54.8% and Black 40.2% of 917K games. The most played, 4. Nf3, scores 53.2% in 3.9M games, and 4. cxd5 scores lowest: 52.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. e4.
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 Move Order has lost ground since 2016: 0.31% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.39%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.39% | 141,016 |
| 2017 | 0.4% | 219,803 |
| 2018 | 0.41% | 321,649 |
| 2019 | 0.38% | 474,069 |
| 2020 | 0.34% | 995,717 |
| 2021 | 0.32% | 1,248,656 |
| 2022 | 0.33% | 1,228,805 |
| 2023 | 0.32% | 1,219,614 |
| 2024 | 0.32% | 1,130,527 |
| 2025 | 0.31% | 1,080,158 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.31% | 342,609 |
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 (6)
- D31 Anti-Noteboom, Stonewall Variation, Portisch Gambit 4. e3 f5 5. g4
- D31 Marshall Gambit 4. e4
- D48 Meran Variation, Pirc Variation 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 a6 9. e4 b4
- D45 Normal Variation 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. b3 Bd6 7. Bb2 O-O 8. Be2
- D31 Noteboom Variation 4. Nf3 dxc4
- D45 Rubinstein System 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Ne5
Transpositions
All 16 named lines that continue from here
- D31 Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Noteboom, Stonewall Variation, Portisch Gambit 5 moves
- D31 Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit 4 moves
- D48 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Pirc Variation 9 moves
- D45 Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation 8 moves
- D31 Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation 4 moves
- D45 Semi-Slav Defense: Rubinstein System 6 moves
- D31 Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Slav, Abrahams Variation 7 moves
- D31 Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Slav, Koomen Variation 7 moves
- D31 Semi-Slav Defense: Gunderam Gambit 5 moves
- D31 Forgotten Variation 6 moves
- D31 Main Line 6 moves
- D31 Abrahams Variation 8 moves
- D31 Anti-Noteboom Gambit 5 moves
- D31 Anti-Noteboom Variation 5 moves
- D31 Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Tolush Variation 9 moves
- D31 Belyavsky Line 5 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order (D31)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-accelerated-move-order