Semi-Slav Defense: Bogoljubow Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 Be7
The Semi-Slav Defense: Bogoljubow Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D46, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 Be7. 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 6 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 7. O-O (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.35 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7. b3 O-O 8. O-O b6 9. Bb2 Bb7)
- ECO
- D46
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pp1nbppp/2p1pn2/3p4/2PP4/2NBPN2/PP3PPP/R1BQK2R w KQkq - 4 7- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. O-O | 3 (50%) | |
| 7. b3 | 1 (17%) | |
| 7. e4 | 1 (17%) | |
| 7. c5 | 1 (17%) |
Master games
33 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 28%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Kamil Miton (2624) – Marek Oliwa (2415) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-POL Ekstraliga 2013 · 2013-05-26
- GM Michael Hoffmann (2462) – GM Andrey Orlov (2535) 1/2-1/2 · Helmut-Kohls-Turnier · 2013-07-27
- FM Joaquin Fiorito (2405) – GM Yuniesky Quesada Perez (2590) 0-1 · Titled Tue 23rd May Early · 2023-05-23
- IM Amirreza Pourramezanali (2532) – FM Abdulla Gadimbayli (2294) 1/2-1/2 · Baku Open 2016 · 2016-09-24
- GM Vugar Rasulov (2550) – IM Dominik Orzech (2248) 1-0 · Titled Tue 19th Mar Early · 2024-03-19
Search all games of the Semi-Slav Defense: Bogoljubow Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Congoman (2318) – saiman26 (2277) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- JPopEye555 (2124) – geoff_march (2149) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- Bhagyavidhata (2030) – Salah_Karpov (2118) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 3s
Comes from
Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line (5… Nbd7 6. Bd3) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3
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.