Caissa Codex
D45

Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line

Chess diagram: Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line after 5. Nf3

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.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

4,031,393 games: White 50.2% / Draw 5.7% / Black 44.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation 1,192,6881.2M
950,944951K
822,737823K
634,307634K
Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation 107,414107K
82,39382K
56,31256K
52,03252K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.17 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 a6 10. a4

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 54% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 353K
1400–1799 1.5M
1800–2199 2.5M
2200 and up 618K
Masters, over the board 37K

Master games

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

In 4,031,393 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.2%, Black 44.1% and 5.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Nbd7, in 30% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation and Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation. In all, 27 named lines continue from it.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

How to play against the Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line

The most played answer, 5…Nbd7 (Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation), also scores best for Black: 49.2%, with Black winning 46.0% and White 47.7% of 1.2M games. Of the main answers, 5…Bb4 scores lowest: 43.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Nbd7.

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: Main Line has lost ground since 2016: 0.13% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.21%.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.21%74,291
20170.22%123,441
20180.22%173,581
20190.2%243,458
20200.18%519,490
20210.15%590,077
20220.15%563,696
20230.15%549,880
20240.14%500,566
20250.13%468,303
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.13%146,378

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)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3…Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3, the position after Slav Defense also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

All 27 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line (D45)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-main-line

https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-main-line