Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation (5. cxd5 Nxd5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5
The Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D71, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5. It is a line of the Neo-Grünfeld Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 41 times by this move order. White won 41%, 10% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 6. e4 (59% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.40 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 6. e4 Nb4 7. d5 c6 8. a3 N4a6)
- ECO
- D71
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/6p1/3n4/3P4/6P1/PP2PPBP/RNBQK1NR w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 13 | |
| 2000+ | 27 | |
| All | 41 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. e4 | 24 (59%) | |
| 6. Nc3 | 9 (22%) | |
| 6. Nf3 | 8 (20%) |
Master games
1,366 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 31%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- Igel 3.0.10 (3495) – KomodoDragon 2885.00 (3590) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-18
- KomodoDragon 2885.00 (3590) – Igel 3.0.10 (3495) 1-0 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-15
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2810) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2764) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Candidates · 2013-03-17
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2837) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2691) 1-0 · World Blitz 2017 · 2017-12-30
- GM Hao Wang (2752) – GM Veselin Topalov (2767) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE GP Beijing · 2013-07-09
Search all games of the Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- SmoovE1258502 (2689) – IM liczner (2760) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- ji0sqwqgt (2708) – IM unknown-maestro_2450 (2638) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Egor_Kharitonov (2600) – howmuchisthefish2025 (2483) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Grünfeld Defense: Counterthrust Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5
More Neo-Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Goglidze Attack D70
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with Nf3 D70
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (3. g3 d5) D70
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation (5… Nxd5 6. Nf3) D71
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (6… Nb6 7. Ne2) D72
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (4… Bg7 5. Nf3) D73
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Delayed Exchange Variation (6… Nxd5 7. O-O) D74
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Delayed Exchange Variation (7… c5 8. O-O) D75
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Delayed Exchange Variation (7… c5 8. dxc5) D75
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Delayed Exchange Variation (7. O-O Nb6) D76
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Classical Variation D77
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Classical Variation, Modern Defense D77
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.