Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Forgotten Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3
The Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Forgotten Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D31, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3. 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 68 times by this move order. White won 49%, 5% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 6… Nf6 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.06 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 6… e5 7. Be3 exd4 8. Qxd4 Qxd4 9. Bxd4)
- ECO
- D31
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pp3ppp/2p1p3/8/1bPP4/2N5/PP3PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 2 6- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 12 | |
| 2000+ | 54 | |
| All | 68 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Nf6 | 29 (43%) | |
| 6… c5 | 27 (40%) | |
| 6… e5 | 9 (13%) | |
| 6… h6 | 1 (1%) | |
| 6… Qa5 | 1 (1%) | |
| 6… Bxc3+ | 1 (1%) |
Master games
404 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 25%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2709) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-06
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2710) – GM Nils Grandelius (2684) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Cup 2023 · 2023-08-13
- GM Pentala Harikrishna (2719) – GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2661) 1-0 · World Stars Sharjah Int · 2020-06-13
- GM Liren Ding (2730) – GM B. Adhiban (2630) 1/2-1/2 · Qatar Masters Open 2014 · 2014-12-04
- GM Aleksey Dreev (2606) – GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2723) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess Q1Sw · 2023-08-21
Highest-rated Lichess games
- tractorchampion001 (2754) – sunchess137 (2668) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- johnsam1 (2731) – sunchess137 (2660) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- FM iustin104 (2598) – Aggressive-Python (2690) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4
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, 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
- Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation, Anti-Noteboom Gambit D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation, Anti-Noteboom 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.