Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Tolush Variation
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
The Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Tolush 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. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 c5 9. Bxc5 Qxg2. 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 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 10. Bf3 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.64 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 10. Bf3 Qg5 11. Qd6 Nd7 12. Ba3 Ne7)
- ECO
- D31
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp3ppp/4p3/2B5/2P5/8/PP2BPqP/R2QK1NR w KQkq - 0 10- PGN
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
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. Bf3 | 1 (50%) | |
| 10. Qd6 | 1 (50%) |
Master games
20 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 25%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- IM Elisabeth Paehtz (2489) – IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (2375) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-FRA Top 12 w GpB 2016 · 2016-05-07
- IM Rahman Mohammad Fahad (2424) – FM Quoc Hy Nguyen (2337) 1-0 · Thailand Int Open Asean · 2023-06-29
- FM Alexander Suvorov (2353) – IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (2392) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 27th Apr · 2021-04-27
- IM Lucian-Ioan Filip (2453) – FM Bogdan Posedaru (2272) 1-0 · Arad Open 2013 · 2013-08-09
- GM Aleksej Aleksandrov (2495) – FM Egor Korelskiy (2153) 1-0 · World Blitz 2022 · 2022-12-30
Search all games of the Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Tolush Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Morrpinge (2063) – jm1971 (2130) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- JAMESHOWLET64 (1968) – AntonioUkr (1825) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Main Line 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2
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: 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.