Grünfeld Defense: Stockholm Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5
The Grünfeld Defense: Stockholm Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D80, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5. 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 1,039 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4… Ne4 (51% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.16 (Stockfish, depth 59; best line 4… Ne4 5. Bf4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. e3)
- ECO
- D80
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/5np1/3p2B1/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 54 | |
| 1500-1999 | 578 | |
| 2000+ | 407 | |
| All | 1,039 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Ne4 | 528 (51%) | |
| 4… Bg7 | 309 (30%) | |
| 4… c6 | 99 (10%) | |
| 4… dxc4 | 84 (8%) | |
| 4… e6 | 8 (1%) | |
| 4… Nbd7 | 5 (0%) | |
| 4… Be6 | 3 (0%) | |
| 4… c5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
2,484 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 27%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Teimour Radjabov (2753) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) 1/2-1/2 · 10th Norway Blitz 2022 · 2022-05-30
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2855) – GM Veselin Topalov (2761) 1-0 · GCT Blitz YourNextMove · 2016-06-20
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2792) – GM Garry Kasparov (2812) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Rapid 2017 · 2017-08-14
- GM Levon Aronian (2781) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2789) 1-0 · Opera Euro Rapid Prelim · 2021-02-08
- GM Levon Aronian (2781) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2784) 1/2-1/2 · Airthings Masters KO 2020 · 2021-01-01
Search all games of the Grünfeld Defense: Stockholm Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM petrik05 (2701) – JAGMM (2672) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- sunchess137 (2660) – FNENAD (2615) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- mmmmmnmmmmm (2548) – IM liczner (2705) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Grünfeld Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5
Continuations
- Grünfeld Defense: Lundin Variation D80 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Ne4 5. Nxe4 dxe4 6. Qd2 c5
More Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch A56
- Grünfeld Defense: Gibbon Gambit D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation, Murrey Attack 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.