Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. f3
The Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D80, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. f3. It is a line of the Grünfeld Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 90 times by this move order. White won 44%, 4% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bg7 (69% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.22 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 4… c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. dxc5 Nxc3 7. Qxd8+)
- ECO
- D80
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/5np1/3p4/2PP4/2N2P2/PP2P1PP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. f3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 42 | |
| 2000+ | 43 | |
| All | 90 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bg7 | 62 (69%) | |
| 4… c5 | 14 (16%) | |
| 4… dxc4 | 7 (8%) | |
| 4… Bf5 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4… e6 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4… Nbd7 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4… b6 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
70 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 16%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Wenjun Ju (2567) – GM Kateryna Lagno (2547) 1/2-1/2 · 2nd IMSA Basque w 2017 · 2017-12-15
- IM Jack Rudd (2252) – GM Boris Chatalbashev (2552) 0-1 · 14th South Wales Int 2017 · 2017-07-12
- Daniel Uribe Arteaga (2227) – IM Jordi Fluvia Poyatos (2468) 1-0 · TCh-CAT Gp1 2016 · 2016-03-05
- IM Dejan Nestorovic (2404) – FM Alexander A. Kholopov (2289) 1-0 · 16th Battle of Senta Open A · 2012-07-15
- Filippos Kouvatsos (2130) – GM Viacheslav V. Zakhartsov (2548) 0-1 · 8th Paleochora Open 2015 · 2015-07-22
Search all games of the Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- OktarSsehcs (2352) – FM Attacke2021 (2392) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- OktarSsehcs (2350) – FM Attacke2021 (2383) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Shubham_UoS (2357) – Aghyad_sy2006 (2278) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Grünfeld Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5
Continuations
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation, Murrey Attack D80 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. f3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Na4
More Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch A56
- Grünfeld Defense: Gibbon Gambit D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lundin Variation 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
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Grünfeld Gambit, Capablanca Variation D83
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Reshevsky Gambit D83
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Grünfeld Gambit Accepted D84
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.