D12

Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Schallopp Defense

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Statistics from Lichess

855,794 games: White 47.2% / Draw 6.7% / Black 46.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	479,093479K
	94,93795K
	89,78390K
	54,58855K
	38,63139K
	35,41435K
	19,69220K
	13,23913K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.27 The position is about equal

Best play: 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Bd2 Nbd7 9. cxd5 cxd5

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 50% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	118K
1400–1799	419K
1800–2199	452K
2200 and up	151K
Masters, over the board	11K

Master games

Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H. 1–0, 2014
So, W. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2017
So, W. – Caruana, F. ½–½, 2017
Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2011
Caruana, F. – Vachier Lagrave, M. 1–0, 2020

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: Quiet Variation, Schallopp Defense (ECO D12, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 (4 moves).

In 855,794 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.2%, Black 46.1% and 6.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Nc3, in 56% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Schallopp Variation and Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Landau Variation. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Schallopp Defense

5. cxd5 scores best for White: 52.1%, with White winning 48.8% and Black 44.5% of 90K games. The most played, 5. Nc3, scores 50.8% in 479K games, and 5. Bd3 scores lowest: 50.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. Nc3.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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, Schallopp Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.039% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.032% in 2025.

0.038%0.032%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.038%	13,527
2017	0.039%	21,251
2018	0.039%	30,946
2019	0.036%	44,757
2020	0.036%	104,516
2021	0.032%	124,833
2022	0.032%	120,178
2023	0.032%	121,314
2024	0.031%	112,698
2025	0.032%	110,954
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.033%	35,754

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Schallopp Defense (D12)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/slav-defense-quiet-variation-schallopp-defense