Slav Defense: Complete Guide

A rock-solid answer to the Queen's Gambit — Black defends d5 with c6 instead of e6, keeping the light-squared bishop free to develop outside the pawn chain. Drill every main line against an adaptive engine, backed by real Lichess win rates and Stockfish evaluations.

23 variations 55,017,840 total games Avg Stockfish +0.38

Play the main line: Slav Defense

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All 23 variations of the Slav Defense

Openings & Plans Slav Defense ECO D10 23M games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Nc3 ECO D10 7M games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Modern Line ECO D11 4M games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Nf3 ECO D10 2M games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: cxd5 ECO D10 2M games Openings & Plans Slav: Exchange Variation ECO D10 2M games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Exchange Variation ECO D10 2M games Openings & Plans Slav: Exchange Variation: cxd5 ECO D10 2M games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: e3 ECO D10 2M games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Modern Line: Nf6 ECO D11 1M games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Modern Line: e6 ECO D11 807K games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Exchange Variation: cxd5 ECO D10 269K games Gambits Slav Defense: Diemer Gambit ECO D10 238K games Openings & Plans Slav: Exchange Variation: Qxd5 ECO D10 151K games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Exchange Variation: Qxd5 ECO D10 151K games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Modern Line: dxc4 ECO D11 119K games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Modern Line: Bg4 ECO D11 109K games Openings & Plans Slav: Chebanenko Variation ECO D15 108K games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Modern Line: Bf5 ECO D11 77K games Gambits Slav Defense: Winawer Countergambit ECO D10 71K games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Bf4 ECO D10 45K games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: c5 ECO D10 35K games Openings & Plans Slav Defense: Modern Line: g6 ECO D11 13K games

Frequently asked questions about the Slav Defense

What is the slav in chess?

The Slav is a chess opening family with 23 variations covered on Chessy. Over 55 million Lichess games have reached these positions across all rating levels.