Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit
The Marshall Gambit is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4, a gambit against the "triangle setup" of the Semi-Slav Defense. 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
1,133,440 games: White 55.0% / Draw 4.9% / Black 40.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 545,345545K | ||
| 189,757190K | ||
| 169,555170K | ||
| 67,81068K | ||
| 35,39635K | ||
| 29,64830K | ||
| 16,67117K | ||
| 15,65816K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.17 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 Na6 9. Bd6
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 55% under 1400, 57% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 107K | |
| 1400–1799 | 360K | |
| 1800–2199 | 750K | |
| 2200 and up | 146K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,452 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Anand, V.
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Kramnik, V.
- Xiong, J. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Nakamura, H.
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 Marshall Gambit is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4, a gambit against the "triangle setup" of the Semi-Slav Defense. Playing ...c6 and ...e6 before ...Nf6 opens up new options for both sides on the fourth move, and one of White's is to strike in the centre at once with 4.e4.
The main line
Play continues 4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+. The main line is considered to be 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+, and White then blocks the check with the knight or the bishop. 4...Bb4 instead of 4...dxe4 is sometimes played but should favour White.
6.Nc3
White can also answer 5...Bb4+ with 6.Nc3, as Magnus Carlsen did against Viswanathan Anand in their 2013 World Championship match. Play then continues 6...c5 7.a3 Ba5.
Avoiding the Noteboom
After 4.Nf3 Black has the extra option of 4...dxc4, the Noteboom Variation. To avoid it, White must play either 4.e4 or 4.e3, which usually transposes to the Meran but deprives White of the lines with Bg5.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 55.0% of the 1.1 million games and Black 40.2%, and White's lead holds in every rating band. In 2,452 master games over the board 44.2% were drawn, White won 34.4% and Black 21.3%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit
The most played answer, 4…dxe4, also scores best for Black: 45.1%, with Black winning 42.2% and White 52.0% of 545K games. Of the main answers, 4…dxc4 scores lowest: 38.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…dxe4.
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: Marshall Gambit has lost ground since 2016: 0.042% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.057%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.057% | 20,370 |
| 2017 | 0.057% | 31,391 |
| 2018 | 0.059% | 46,338 |
| 2019 | 0.053% | 65,922 |
| 2020 | 0.044% | 127,722 |
| 2021 | 0.04% | 156,114 |
| 2022 | 0.042% | 157,957 |
| 2023 | 0.042% | 159,655 |
| 2024 | 0.042% | 151,669 |
| 2025 | 0.042% | 146,209 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.044% | 47,741 |
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 (3)
All 4 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: Marshall Gambit (D31)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-marshall-gambit