Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6
The Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D45, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6. It is a line of the Semi-Slav 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 36%, 14% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 6. Bd3 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.27 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 6. b3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 Bd6)
- ECO
- D45
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p3ppp/p1p1pn2/3p4/2PP4/2N1PN2/PP3PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 14 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Bd3 | 4 (29%) | |
| 6. Qc2 | 3 (21%) | |
| 6. Ne5 | 2 (14%) | |
| 6. Be2 | 2 (14%) | |
| 6. Bd2 | 1 (7%) | |
| 6. Qb3 | 1 (7%) | |
| 6. a3 | 1 (7%) |
Master games
227 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 43%, Black 20%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) 0-1 · Magnus-Alireza 27th Feb · 2021-02-27
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2769) – GM Levon Aronian (2802) 0-1 · 75th Tata Steel GpA · 2013-01-25
- GM Laurent Fressinet (2706) – GM Levon Aronian (2809) 1/2-1/2 · Alekhine Mem · 2013-04-30
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2764) – GM Dmitry Jakovenko (2741) 1-0 · Piterenka Rapid 2012 · 2012-12-29
- GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2749) – GM Xiangzhi Bu (2705) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-27
Search all games of the Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Chess-Training2 (2165) – marciopessoa (2197) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 600 + 0s
- SeaHorseKing (2159) – antoniomqa (2111) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- CapitanCentella (2114) – sepr (2134) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line (4… e6 5. Nf3) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3
More Semi-Slav Defense lines (all)
- Semi-Slav Defense: Quiet Variation (4… e6 5. Nbd2) D30
- Semi-Slav Defense: Quiet Variation (5. Nbd2 Nbd7) D30
- Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Noteboom, Stonewall Variation D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Noteboom, Stonewall Variation, Portisch Gambit D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Gunderam Gambit D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Forgotten Variation D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Main Line D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Tolush Variation D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation, Abrahams Variation D31
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.