Rubinstein Opening: Semi-Slav Defense (6… Nbd7 7. Bb2)
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 Nbd7 7. Bb2
The Rubinstein Opening: Semi-Slav Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D05, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 Nbd7 7. Bb2. It is a line of the Rubinstein Opening. 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 5 times by this move order. White won 40%, 0% were drawn and Black won 60%. The most popular continuation is 7… c5 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.06 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 7… b6 8. Ne5 Bb7 9. a4 a5 10. Na3)
- ECO
- D05
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pppn1ppp/3bpn2/3p4/3P4/1P1BPN2/PBP2PPP/RN1Q1RK1 b - - 2 7- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 Nbd7 7. Bb2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… c5 | 2 (40%) | |
| 7… c6 Semi-Slav Defense (7. Bb2 c6) | 1 (20%) | |
| 7… b6 | 1 (20%) | |
| 7… Re8 | 1 (20%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 0%, draw 50%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- Thi Ha Le (1944) – Thi Hong Nhung Doan (1849) 1/2-1/2 · Vietnam National Masters Women 2012 · 2012-12-05
Search all games of the Rubinstein Opening: Semi-Slav Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- swapmeet (2035) – ps5_ultragamer (1999) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 900 + 10s
- superVN18 (2036) – moskwitch412 (1972) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Elbak (1899) – mrblackcat94 (1884) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System (3… e6 4. Bd3) 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3
Continuations
- Rubinstein Opening: Semi-Slav Defense (7. Bb2 c6) D05 · 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 Nbd7 7. Bb2 c6
More Rubinstein Opening lines (all)
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.