Caissa Codex
D48

Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Reynolds' Variation

Chess diagram: Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Reynolds' Variation after 10. d5

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

6,676 games: White 53.0% / Draw 5.5% / Black 41.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2,5402,540
1,7351,735
923923
504504
367367
211211
211211
126126

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.13 The position is about equal

Best play: 10... c4 11. dxe6 fxe6 12. Bc2 Bb7 13. O-O Qc7 14. Ng5 Nc5 15. e5

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

Overview

Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Reynolds' Variation (ECO D48, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Semi-Slav Defense, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 a6 9. e4 c5 10. d5 (10 moves).

In 6,676 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.0%, Black 41.5% and 5.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 10…c4, in 38% of those games.

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: Meran Variation, Reynolds' Variation

10…Qc7 scores best for Black: 51.6%, with Black winning 48.2% and White 45.0% of 504 games. The most played, 10…c4, scores 47.0% in 2,540 games, and 10…exd5 scores lowest: 38.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 10…c4.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 a6 9. e4 c5 10. d5, the position after Semi-Slav Defense also goes on to:

Transpositions

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Reynolds' Variation (D48)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-meran-variation-reynolds-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/semi-slav-defense-meran-variation-reynolds-variation