Semi-Slav Defense: Botvinnik Variation
The Botvinnik Variation of the Semi-Slav Defense is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4. Read the guide
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
249,742 games: White 47.6% / Draw 4.8% / Black 47.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 198,884199K | ||
| 33,18433K | ||
| 11,53012K | ||
| 2,4862,486 | ||
| 1,6351,635 | ||
| 935935 | ||
| 546546 | ||
| 188188 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 4, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.72 White is better
Best play: 6... b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 59% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7,981 | |
| 1400–1799 | 44K | |
| 1800–2199 | 134K | |
| 2200 and up | 85K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,937 |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Aronian, L.
- Kramnik, V. – Morozevich, A.
- Nakamura, H. – Aronian, L.
- Kramnik, V. – Anand, V.
- Topalov, V. – Shirov, A.
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
Description
The Botvinnik Variation of the Semi-Slav Defense is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4. It is probably one of the most complicated of all chess openings, with theory stretching past move thirty in some lines. Black takes on c4 at once, White takes the centre with 6.e4, and Black defends the extra pawn with 6...b5.
History
Mikhail Botvinnik introduced it in the 1945 USSR vs. USA radio match against Arnold Denker, though Klaus Junge is credited as the actual inventor. Alex Yermolinsky has an excellent record with White, and Alexei Shirov has been Black's chief proponent.
The main line
The main line runs 6...b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7. White will regain the piece and come out a pawn up, but Black soon completes development and gets great dynamic compensation. White fianchettoes the king's bishop and castles kingside; Black plays ...c5 and ...Qb6, castles queenside, and can attack in the centre or on either flank.
The main continuation is 11.g3 Bb7 12.Bg2 Qb6 13.exf6 O-O-O 14.O-O c5 15.d5 b4, a key position. White now chooses between 16.Na4, the most challenging move, and 16.Rb1, which stops Black from taking the knight on c3. The 16.Rb1 positions are highly dynamic and favour the better-prepared player first of all, although objectively White may have a slight advantage.
The numbers
On Lichess the line is balanced: White and Black each win 47.6% of the 249,742 games. White does much better under 1400, 57.3% against 39.3%. Masters draw almost half the time: in 3,937 games over the board 48.4% were drawn, White won 33.2% and Black 18.4%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Semi-Slav Defense: Botvinnik Variation
The most played answer, 6…b5, also scores best for Black: 52.0%, with Black winning 49.6% and White 45.6% of 199K games. Of the main answers, 6…Be7 scores lowest: 42.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…b5.
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
Popularity by year
The Semi-Slav Defense: Botvinnik Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.008% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.01% (its peak: 0.013% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.01% | 3,740 |
| 2017 | 0.012% | 6,644 |
| 2018 | 0.013% | 10,527 |
| 2019 | 0.012% | 15,474 |
| 2020 | 0.011% | 33,218 |
| 2021 | 0.0099% | 38,542 |
| 2022 | 0.0097% | 36,252 |
| 2023 | 0.0092% | 34,726 |
| 2024 | 0.0085% | 30,510 |
| 2025 | 0.008% | 27,620 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0079% | 8,630 |
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 (2)
All 3 named lines that continue from here
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Semi-Slav Defense, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Semi-Slav Defense: Botvinnik Variation (D44)”. Lichess data as of 4 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-botvinnik-variation