Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Larsen Variation (9. O-O b6)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Ne2 Qd7 9. O-O b6
The Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Larsen Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D86, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Ne2 Qd7 9. O-O b6. It is a line of the Grünfeld Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 10. Be3 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.46 (Stockfish, depth 26; best line 10. Rb1 Bb7 11. Ng3 e5 12. d5 Ba6)
- ECO
- D86
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
rnb2rk1/p1pqppbp/1p4p1/8/2BPP3/2P5/P3NPPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 10- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Ne2 Qd7 9. O-O b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. Be3 | 2 (100%) |
Master games
7 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 28%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- FM Shahdad Teimouri Yadkuri (2388) – CM Mohammad Shah Moradi (2155) 1-0 · Titled Tue 8th Sep 2026 · 2026-09-08
- WIM Viktoria Johansson (2179) – WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg (2311) 1/2-1/2 · 40th Olympiad Women · 2012-08-31
- FM Maurin Moeller (2287) – CM Mohammad Shah Moradi (2155) 1-0 · Titled Tue 22nd Sep 2026 · 2026-09-22
- Ilya Chekletsov (2113) – IM Josef Pribyl (2274) 1/2-1/2 · 26th Czech Rapid G1 2015 · 2015-07-23
- FM Antonio P Santos (2120) – CM Mohammad Shah Moradi (2155) 0-1 · Titled Tue 1st Sep 2026 · 2026-09-01
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MatChess06 (2417) – Rashal01 (2355) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Cannabaceae (2256) – Jesko-lino_71 (2211) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Larsen Variation (8. Ne2 Qd7) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Ne2 Qd7
More Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch A56
- Grünfeld Defense D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Gibbon Gambit D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lundin Variation D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation, Murrey Attack D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Stockholm Variation D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Zaitsev Gambit D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation, Accelerated Variation D81
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack D82
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Grünfeld Gambit D83
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Grünfeld Gambit, Botvinnik Variation D83
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.