Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Main Line
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2
The Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Main Line 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. Bd2. It is a line of the Semi-Slav Defense. 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 119 times by this move order. White won 50%, 7% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 6… Qxd4 (87% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.17 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 6… Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 Na6 9. Bd6)
- ECO
- D31
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pp3ppp/2p1p3/8/1bPPN3/8/PP1B1PPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 2 6- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 17 | |
| 2000+ | 100 | |
| All | 119 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Qxd4 | 104 (87%) | |
| 6… Bxd2+ | 12 (10%) | |
| 6… Qa5 | 2 (2%) | |
| 6… Be7 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
825 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 25%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- Stoofvlees II d9 (3541) – Reckless 0.10.0-dev-9057bc13 (3749) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Gambit Bonus 2026 · 2026-05-28
- Reckless 0.10.0-dev-9057bc13 (3749) – Stoofvlees II d9 (3541) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Gambit Bonus 2026 · 2026-05-28
- GM Anish Giri (2773) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) 1/2-1/2 · Oslo Esports Cup 2022 · 2022-04-24
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2810) – GM Javokhir Sindarov (2745) 0-1 · FIDE Candidates 2026 · 2026-04-03
- GM So, W. (2765) – GM Praggnanandhaa R (2750) 1/2-1/2 · 13th Sinquefield Cup TB · 2026-08-19
Search all games of the Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Main Line and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NM Andrey11976 (2791) – Coach13 (2812) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- uSeRnAmEnOtAvAiL (2804) – oprahwindfury81 (2674) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- spartak20 (2715) – ANKARA_MESSI2022 (2684) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4
Continuations
- Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Tolush Variation D31 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 c5 9. Bxc5 Qxg2
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, Forgotten 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
- Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation, Anti-Noteboom Variation, Belyavsky Line 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.