Slav Defense: Quiet Variation
The Quiet Variation of the Slav Defense, also called the Slow Slav, is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
2,722,684 games: White 48.8% / Draw 6.6% / Black 44.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Pin Defense | 898,053898K | |
| 717,166717K | ||
| Schallopp Defense | 566,895567K | |
| 231,498231K | ||
| 143,206143K | ||
| 62,88363K | ||
| 54,75655K | ||
| 17,67618K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.22 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Nxg6 hxg6 9. Qb3
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, 55% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 393K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 534K | |
| Masters, over the board | 29K |
Master games
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Karjakin, S.
- So, W. – Caruana, F.
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
Description
The Quiet Variation of the Slav Defense, also called the Slow Slav, is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3. With 4.e3 White avoids the complexities of the main line, 4.Nc3.
Main line: 4...Bf5
The most common continuation is 4...Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4. White wins the bishop pair, but Black gets a solid position and often counterplay with ...e5. This line was tested several times in the 2006 World Chess Championship.
Other lines
After 4...Bf5, 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3 Qc7 is fine for Black. White tries to exploit the absence of Black's light-squared bishop from the queenside, but this is not enough for an advantage if Black plays accurately.
Another way to play for Black is 4...Bg4.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 48.8% of the 2.7 million games and Black 44.6%. From 2200 up White's lead grows to 50.1% against 40.9%, with 9.0% drawn. Masters draw more than half their games: in 29,404 games over the board 54.8% were drawn, White won 29.1% and Black 16.1%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Slav Defense: Quiet Variation
4…Bf5 (Schallopp Defense) scores best for Black: 49.4%, with Black winning 46.0% and White 47.1% of 567K games. The most played, 4…Bg4, scores 48.4% in 898K games, and 4…e6 scores lowest: 46.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…Bf5.
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: Quiet Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.099% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.13%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.13% | 46,813 |
| 2017 | 0.14% | 74,437 |
| 2018 | 0.14% | 106,466 |
| 2019 | 0.12% | 152,260 |
| 2020 | 0.11% | 332,636 |
| 2021 | 0.099% | 386,284 |
| 2022 | 0.1% | 381,315 |
| 2023 | 0.1% | 380,917 |
| 2024 | 0.099% | 356,226 |
| 2025 | 0.099% | 344,542 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.1% | 109,929 |
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 10 named lines that continue from here
- D30 Semi-Slav Defense: Quiet Variation 5 moves
- D11 Pin Defense 4 moves
- D12 Schallopp Defense 4 moves
- D30 Queen's Gambit Declined: Stonewall Variation 6 moves
- D30 Quiet Variation 5 moves
- D13 Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Schallopp Variation 6 moves
- D12 Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Landau Variation 8 moves
- D12 Schallopp Defense 5 moves
- D30 Queen's Gambit Declined: Semmering Variation 6 moves
- D12 Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Amsterdam Variation 7 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Slav Defense, version of 25 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Slav Defense: Quiet Variation (D11)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/slav-defense-quiet-variation