Slav Defense 2…c6 3. Nc3
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Statistics from Lichess
20,869,718 games: White 50.6% / Draw 5.3% / Black 44.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 12,692,81612.7M | ||
| Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order | 3,719,7383.7M | |
| 1,995,6622M | ||
| 1,223,2051.2M | ||
| 318,581319K | ||
| 271,675272K | ||
| Winawer Countergambit | 157,032157K | |
| 135,053135K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3
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% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 58% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.9M | |
| 1400–1799 | 10.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 12.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.7M | |
| Masters, over the board | 25K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Karjakin, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Aronian, L. – Anand, V.
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
Slav Defense (ECO D10, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Slav Defense, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 (3 moves).
In 20,869,718 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.6%, Black 44.0% and 5.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Nf6, in 61% of those games.
It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line and Slav Defense: Winawer Countergambit. In all, 35 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 3. Nc3
The most played answer, 3…Nf6, also scores best for Black: 47.4%, with Black winning 44.6% and White 49.8% of 12.7M games. Of the main answers, 3…Bf5 scores lowest: 44.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…Nf6.
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 peaked in 2018 at 0.96% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.77% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.9% | 320,438 |
| 2017 | 0.94% | 516,476 |
| 2018 | 0.96% | 750,426 |
| 2019 | 0.89% | 1,111,760 |
| 2020 | 0.82% | 2,414,604 |
| 2021 | 0.79% | 3,100,848 |
| 2022 | 0.81% | 3,032,595 |
| 2023 | 0.79% | 2,978,624 |
| 2024 | 0.77% | 2,769,333 |
| 2025 | 0.77% | 2,661,081 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.77% | 846,202 |
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 (6)
- D94 Grünfeld Defense: Flohr Defense 3…Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Bf5
- D94 Grünfeld Defense: Smyslov Defense 3…Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Bg4
- D45 Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line 3…Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3
- D49 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Rellstab Attack 3…Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11. Nxb5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 axb5 13. O-O Qd5 14. Qe2 Ba6 15. Bg5
- D10 Slav Defense 3…dxc4
- D10 Winawer Countergambit 3…e5
Transpositions
All 35 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- D94 Grünfeld Defense: Flohr Defense 7 moves
- D94 Grünfeld Defense: Smyslov Defense 7 moves
- D45 Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line 5 moves
- D49 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Rellstab Attack 15 moves
- D10 Slav Defense 3 moves
- D10 Winawer Countergambit 3 moves
- D45 Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation 5 moves
- D45 Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation 5 moves
- D10 Slav Gambit, Alekhine Attack 4 moves
- D10 Anti-Winawer Gambit 4 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 8 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line 6 moves
- D45 Semi-Slav Defense: Stoltz Variation 6 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Bogoljubow Variation 6 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 9 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 9 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 6 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Romih Variation 6 moves
- D47 Semi-Slav Defense: Semi-Meran Variation 7 moves
- D45 Stoltz Variation 7 moves
- D46 Chigorin Defense 7 moves
- D47 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation 7 moves
- D45 Stoltz Variation 7 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 8 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 11 moves
- D48 Meran Variation 8 moves
- D47 Wade Variation 8 moves
- D46 Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line 10 moves
- D48 Meran Variation 9 moves
- D47 Larsen Variation 11 moves
- D48 Old Variation 10 moves
- D47 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Wade Variation, Kaidanov Gambit 13 moves
- D49 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Blumenfeld Variation 11 moves
- D49 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Rabinovich Variation 11 moves
- D49 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Stahlberg Variation 13 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Slav Defense (D10)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/slav-defense-2