Caissa Codex
D15

Slav Defense: Two Knights Attack

Chess diagram: Slav Defense: Two Knights Attack after 4…dxc4

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

1,744,878 games: White 48.5% / Draw 5.8% / Black 45.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Slav Defense: Alapin Variation 909,243909K
Slav Defense: Geller Gambit 433,625434K
Slav Defense: Alekhine Variation 175,806176K
109,568110K
54,99255K
32,55133K
20,62821K
3,1353,135

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 5. a4 e6 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. exd4 Nc6 9. O-O Be7

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 Black: Black scores 43% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 114K
1400–1799 369K
1800–2199 1M
2200 and up 495K
Masters, over the board 19K

Master games

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: Two Knights Attack (ECO D15, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Slav Defense: Three Knights Variation, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 (4 moves).

In 1,744,878 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.5%, Black 45.8% and 5.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. a4, in 52% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Slav Defense: Alapin Variation and Slav Defense: Geller Gambit. In all, 20 named lines continue from it.

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 Slav Defense: Two Knights Attack

5. e3 (Slav Defense: Alekhine Variation) scores best for White: 52.2%, with White winning 49.5% and Black 45.1% of 176K games. The most played, 5. a4, scores 51.6% in 909K games, and 5. e4 scores lowest: 50.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. a4.

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: Two Knights Attack has lost ground since 2016: 0.062% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.08% (its peak: 0.096% in 2018).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.08%28,449
20170.083%45,915
20180.096%75,403
20190.082%101,982
20200.075%218,695
20210.064%250,641
20220.064%239,715
20230.064%240,790
20240.063%227,341
20250.062%215,856
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.064%69,663

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)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…dxc4, the position after Slav Defense: Three Knights Variation also goes on to:

Transpositions

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

All 20 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Slav Defense: Two Knights Attack (D15)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/slav-defense-two-knights-attack

https://chesscodex.org/openings/slav-defense-two-knights-attack