Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Schallopp Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
174,715 games: White 46.5% / Draw 6.0% / Black 47.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 106,664107K | ||
| 37,38537K | ||
| 17,74818K | ||
| 5,0135,013 | ||
| 4,5264,526 | ||
| 669669 | ||
| 654654 | ||
| 632632 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.09 The position is about equal
Best play: 6... e6 7. Ne5 Nfd7 8. g4 Bg6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. h4 Nc6 11. g5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 50% under 1400, 56% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 35K | |
| 1400–1799 | 124K | |
| 1800–2199 | 92K | |
| 2200 and up | 9,356 | |
| Masters, over the board | 218 |
Master games
- Milov, V. – Bareev, E.
- Kurajica, B. – Shirov, A.
- Milov, V. – Gurevich, M.
- Nikolic, P. – Savchenko, S.
- Makarov, M. – Bareev, E.
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
Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Schallopp Variation (ECO D13, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Schallopp Defense, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Nc3 (6 moves).
In 174,715 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.5%, Black 47.5% and 6.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…e6, in 61% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Amsterdam Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Schallopp Variation
The most played answer, 6…e6, also scores best for Black: 50.8%, with Black winning 47.8% and White 46.3% of 107K games. Of the main answers, 6…a6 scores lowest: 49.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…e6.
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 Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Schallopp Variation peaked in 2020 at 0.0073% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0063% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0063% | 2,261 |
| 2017 | 0.0069% | 3,777 |
| 2018 | 0.0072% | 5,683 |
| 2019 | 0.0068% | 8,502 |
| 2020 | 0.0073% | 21,509 |
| 2021 | 0.007% | 27,327 |
| 2022 | 0.0068% | 25,634 |
| 2023 | 0.0067% | 25,021 |
| 2024 | 0.0065% | 23,147 |
| 2025 | 0.0063% | 22,006 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0063% | 6,961 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Schallopp Variation (D13)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/slav-defense-exchange-variation-schallopp-variation