Grünfeld Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5
The Grünfeld Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D80, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5. White is to move. 9 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 11,809 times by this move order. White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4. cxd5 (45% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.28 (Stockfish, depth 56; best line 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3)
- ECO
- D80
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/5np1/3p4/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 496 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5,817 | |
| 2000+ | 5,496 | |
| All | 11,809 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. cxd5 | 5,264 (45%) | |
| 4. Nf3 Three Knights Variation (3… d5 4. Nf3) | 2,712 (23%) | |
| 4. e3 | 1,062 (9%) | |
| 4. Bg5 Stockholm Variation | 1,039 (9%) | |
| 4. Bf4 Brinckmann Attack | 633 (5%) | |
| 4. c5 | 300 (3%) | |
| 4. e4 | 289 (2%) | |
| 4. g3 | 147 (1%) |
Master games
1,495 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 24%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2853) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2747) 1/2-1/2 · Global Chess League 2023 · 2023-07-01
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764) – GM Levon Aronian (2815) 0-1 · SportAccord Blindfold Men 2012 · 2012-12-18
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764) – GM Levon Aronian (2815) 1-0 · SportAccord Rapid Men 2012 · 2012-12-15
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2775) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2774) 1/2-1/2 · Makedonia Palace GP · 2013-05-27
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2727) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2796) 0-1 · 41st GM · 2013-07-26
Search all games of the Grünfeld Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- vistagusta (2832) – winx_m (2921) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Chess1Love0 (2825) – Sunrise34 (2850) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM ManiacalZerker (2779) – Sunrise34 (2871) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Indian Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3
Continuations
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack D82 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4
- Grünfeld Defense: Gibbon Gambit D80 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. g4
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation D80 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. f3
- Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation, Accelerated Variation D81 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Qb3
- Grünfeld Defense: Stockholm Variation D80 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation (3… d5 4. Nf3) D90 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3
- Grünfeld Defense: Zaitsev Gambit D80 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. h4
- Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation D85 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5
- Grünfeld Defense: Pachman Variation D95 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Bxc4 O-O 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. Ng5
More Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch A56
- Grünfeld Defense: Lundin Variation D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation, Murrey Attack D80
- 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
- Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation (6… Bg7 7. Nf3) D85
- Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation (7. Nf3 c5) D85
- Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation (7… c5 8. Rb1) D85
- Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Modern Exchange Variation, Kramnik's Line D85
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.