Grünfeld Defense: Smyslov Defense
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Bg4
The Grünfeld Defense: Smyslov Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D94, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Bg4. 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 14 times by this move order. White won 50%, 14% were drawn and Black won 36%. The most popular continuation is 8. h3 (79% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.34 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 e6 10. b3 a6)
- ECO
- D94
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p2np1/3p4/2PP2b1/2NBPN2/PP3PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 6 8- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Bg4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| 2000+ | 9 | |
| All | 14 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. h3 | 11 (79%) | |
| 8. cxd5 | 1 (7%) | |
| 8. Be2 | 1 (7%) | |
| 8. Qc2 | 1 (7%) |
Master games
64 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 42%, Black 17%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2753) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2774) 1/2-1/2 · 8th Tal Memorial · 2013-06-18
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764) – GM Gata Kamsky (2762) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE GP Tashkent · 2012-11-29
- GM Alexander Onischuk (2672) – GM Yue Wang (2691) 1/2-1/2 · 13th Karpov GM · 2012-09-28
- GM Alexander Moiseenko (2692) – GM Evgeny Postny (2653) 1/2-1/2 · Bundesliga 2015-16 · 2016-02-21
- GM Qun Ma (2629) – GM Yue Wang (2679) 1/2-1/2 · CHN Team Men 2018 · 2018-06-25
Search all games of the Grünfeld Defense: Smyslov Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Decoy666 (2338) – Vadim_Biliy (2311) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- kiwin88 (2366) – alishahi2012 (2250) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 600 + 0s
- FrenchLebanese (2287) – Prio22 (2185) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Slav Defense (2… c6 3. Nc3) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3
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.