Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 7…Bb7 8. Bd3
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
1,357 games: White 49.5% / Draw 8.0% / Black 42.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 416416 | ||
| 357357 | ||
| 247247 | ||
| 9797 | ||
| 7373 | ||
| 5656 | ||
| 5454 | ||
| 2525 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.29 The position is about equal
Best play: 8... Bb4 9. O-O O-O 10. Bb2 Rc8 11. a3 Bxc3 12. Qxc3 c5 13. Rfd1
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense (ECO D46, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Semi-Slav Defense: Stoltz Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 7. b3 Bb7 8. Bd3 (8 moves).
In 1,357 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 42.5% and 8.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…Be7, in 31% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 8. Bd3
The most played answer, 8…Be7, also scores best for Black: 47.8%, with Black winning 43.3% and White 47.6% of 416 games. Of the main answers, 8…Bd6 scores lowest: 42.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 8…Bb4.
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense (D46)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-chigorin-defense-3