Caissa Codex
D46

Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line 5…Nbd7 6. Bd3

Chess diagram: Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line after 6. Bd3

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Statistics from Lichess

618,212 games: White 48.7% / Draw 6.1% / Black 45.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
314,990315K
Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 133,465133K
Semi-Slav Defense: Bogoljubow Variation 75,50276K
Semi-Slav Defense: Romih Variation 37,11937K
15,45315K
12,61213K
5,5575,557
5,4465,446

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.20 The position is about equal

Best play: 6... dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 b4 9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Bxe4 Bb7 11. O-O

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 53% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 25K
1400–1799 132K
1800–2199 374K
2200 and up 151K
Masters, over the board 11K

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 27, 2026

Overview

Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line (ECO D46, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 (6 moves).

In 618,212 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.7%, Black 45.2% and 6.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…dxc4, in 51% of those games.

It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Semi-Slav Defense: Semi-Meran Variation and Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense. In all, 16 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 6. Bd3

The most played answer, 6…dxc4, also scores best for Black: 50.1%, with Black winning 46.9% and White 46.8% of 315K games. Of the main answers, 6…Bb4 scores lowest: 43.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…dxc4.

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

This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.019% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.036% (its peak: 0.04% in 2017).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.036%12,737
20170.04%21,988
20180.039%30,934
20190.032%40,216
20200.029%85,946
20210.023%89,516
20220.022%83,199
20230.021%80,619
20240.021%73,509
20250.019%66,018
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.019%20,784

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 (4)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6. Bd3, the position after Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation also goes on to:

All 16 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line (D46)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-main-line-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-main-line-2