Play the Grünfeld Defense: The cxd5 Variation

The Grünfeld is a fighting opening. Black gives up the centre early — here by playing ...d5 and recapturing with the knight — with the long-term plan of undermining White's central pawns. The knight on d5 is well placed and ready to be exchanged or to jump to b6 or f6 depending on circumstances. The statistics show that Black actually scores better from this position than White: across 518,826 games, Black wins 50.2% of the time, White wins 44.7%, and only 5.1% end in a draw. That's a fantastic practical result for Black, especially given that the engine evaluation is +0.36, a small edge for White. In other words, you are slightly worse according to the computer, but human players have a very hard time proving that advantage — and Black wins more often than White at the board.

Stockfish's top choice is 5.e4, immediately challenging the knight on d5. The engine's planned continuation is 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 — White pushes the knight away, you capture on c3, White recaptures with the b-pawn (creating a doubled pawn pair), and you strike back in the centre with ...c5. This is the classic Grünfeld structure. White has a big pawn centre but also weaknesses: the doubled c-pawns and the d3-square can become targets. Black's job is to pressure the centre with moves like ...Bg7, ...0-0, ...Nc6, and ...Bd7 or ...Qc7, often followed by ...Rd8. The resulting positions are rich with counterplay and have been played tens of thousands of times at all levels.

Here are the most common moves White plays from this position, along with how often White scores (wins + draws/2):- 5.e4 (386,110 games, White scores 45.3%) — This is by far the most popular move. You should be ready for it with ...Nxc3 and ...c5, as shown above.- 5.Nxd5 (58,127 games, White scores 39.5%) — This is a known mistake. The engine says it loses about 0.9 pawns compared to 5.e4. After 5.Nxd5 Qxd5, Black has traded off the central knight and now has a comfortable position with the queen in the centre. White's score drops to just 39.5%, making this a very welcome move for Black.- 5.Nf3 (36,636 games, White scores 45.2%) — A solid development move. Black can simply play ...Bg7, and the game transposes into other Grünfeld lines. The position remains roughly equal in practice.- 5.e3 (10,692 games, White scores 45.4%) — A quieter approach. Black can again play ...Bg7 and prepare to challenge the centre.- The other moves (5.Bd2 and 5.g3) are less common but playable. In all cases, Black's basic plan is the same: develop, castle, and target White's centre.

We already mentioned it, but it deserves its own section: 5.Nxd5 is a mistake. The engine evaluates it as losing roughly 0.9 pawns in advantage compared to the best move 5.e4. Many club players who are unfamiliar with Grünfeld theory might grab the knight, thinking they simplify and reach a comfortable endgame. But after 5.Nxd5 Qxd5, Black is doing very well. White's centre is under pressure, Black has the bishop pair and easy development, and the queen on d5 is surprisingly hard to chase away. Statistically, White scores only 39.5% from here — that's a full 6 percentage points lower than after 5.e4. If your opponent plays 5.Nxd5, take the queen and enjoy a pleasant position.