Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Moscow Gambit
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4
The Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Moscow Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO D43, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4. It is a line of the Semi-Slav Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 62 times by this move order. White won 50%, 3% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 6… dxc4 (45% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.10 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 6… Be7 7. e3 O-O 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. a3)
- ECO
- D43
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp3pp1/2p1pn1p/3p4/2PP3B/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 7 | |
| 1500-1999 | 17 | |
| 2000+ | 38 | |
| All | 62 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… dxc4 | 28 (45%) | |
| 6… Be7 | 19 (31%) | |
| 6… g5 | 11 (18%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 2 (3%) | |
| 6… Bd6 | 1 (2%) | |
| 6… b6 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
576 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 24%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- Stockfish dev-20240728-2343f71 (3662) – LCZero 0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-61 (3631) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Balanced Lines · 2024-08-02
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2791) – GM Liren Ding (2755) 1-0 · 4th Sinquefield Cup 2016 · 2016-08-14
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2766) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2757) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 3m+1spm 2017 · 2018-08-07
- GM Alexander Morozevich (2770) – GM Boris Gelfand (2738) 1-0 · World Blitz Final · 2012-07-10
- GM Anish Giri (2764) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2730) 0-1 · Niemann-Giri Match 2026 · 2026-07-12
Search all games of the Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Moscow Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- QVC64 (2508) – LetUsWin (2690) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- C01B01 (2603) – urajimiru (2499) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Neymar1000 (2510) – Barry_Lindon (2552) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Semi-Slav Defense 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6
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.