Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4
The Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO D31, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4. It is a line of the Semi-Slav Defense. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 986 times by this move order. White won 56%, 6% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 4… dxe4 (56% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.21 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 4… dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4)
- ECO
- D31
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/2p1p3/3p4/2PPP3/2N5/PP3PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 96 | |
| 1500-1999 | 425 | |
| 2000+ | 465 | |
| All | 986 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… dxe4 | 551 (56%) | |
| 4… Bb4 | 137 (14%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 115 (12%) | |
| 4… dxc4 | 56 (6%) | |
| 4… f5 | 30 (3%) | |
| 4… Bd6 | 18 (2%) | |
| 4… Ne7 | 17 (2%) | |
| 4… a6 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
433 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 21%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2727) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2710) 0-1 · IMSA Basque 2016 · 2016-03-03
- GM Nikita Vitiugov (2729) – GM Kiril Georgiev (2664) 1-0 · 29th ECC Open 2013 · 2013-10-24
- GM Alexey Sarana (2717) – GM Nihal Sarin (2668) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Bl Team Pool D · 2024-08-05
- GM Anton Korobov (2652) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2726) 0-1 · 2nd IMSA Blitz 2017 · 2017-12-13
- GM Alexey Sarana (2666) – GM Jeffery Xiong (2656) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 3rd Sep 2026 · 2026-09-03
Search all games of the Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit 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
- tractorchampion001 (2754) – sunchess137 (2668) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6
Continuations
- Semi-Slav Defense: Gunderam Gambit D31 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. f3
- Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Forgotten Variation D31 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3
- Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit, Main Line D31 · 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: Anti-Noteboom, Stonewall Variation D31
- Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Noteboom, Stonewall Variation, Portisch Gambit 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
- Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation, Anti-Noteboom Variation, Belyavsky Line D31
- Semi-Slav Defense D43
- Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Moscow Gambit D43
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.