Slav Defense (3. Nc3 dxc4)
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 dxc4
The Slav Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D10, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 dxc4. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,643 times by this move order. White won 53%, 4% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 4. e4 (46% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 65; best line 4. e3 b5 5. a4 b4 6. Ne4 Qd5)
- ECO
- D10
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/8/2pP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 dxc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 841 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,369 | |
| 2000+ | 433 | |
| All | 2,643 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. e4 Slav Gambit, Alekhine Attack | 1,215 (46%) | |
| 4. a4 | 615 (23%) | |
| 4. e3 | 389 (15%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 261 (10%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 109 (4%) | |
| 4. f3 | 13 (0%) | |
| 4. g3 | 12 (0%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 12 (0%) |
Master games
799 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 25%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2877) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 1-0 · 2nd Sinquefield Cup 2014 · 2014-09-03
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2766) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2767) 0-1 · Renova FIDE GP Zug · 2013-04-29
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2743) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 1-0 · 41st Olympiad Open 2014 · 2014-08-14
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2761) – GM Hao Wang (2752) 1-0 · FIDE GP Beijing · 2013-07-07
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2757) – GM Ruslan Ponomariov (2731) 1-0 · SportAccord Rapid Men 2013 · 2013-12-12
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Aczgego (2593) – Humfrey_Hardyng (2657) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- tinotinotino (2655) – IM Angelicanmade (2562) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- VoinTeka (2531) – Humfrey_Hardyng (2642) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Slav Defense (2… c6 3. Nc3) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3
Continuations
- Slav Defense: Slav Gambit, Alekhine Attack D10 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. e4
More Slav Defense lines (all)
- Slav Defense (2. c4 c6) D10
- Slav Defense: Diemer Gambit D10
- Slav Defense: Exchange Variation (2… c6 3. cxd5) D10
- Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Boor Attack D10
- Slav Defense: Winawer Countergambit D10
- Slav Defense: Winawer Countergambit, Anti-Winawer Gambit D10
- Slav Defense: Bonet Gambit D11
- Slav Defense: Breyer Variation D11
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (2… c6 3. Nf3) D11
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (5. Bg2 g6) D11
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (5… e6 6. O-O) D11
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (5… Nbd7 6. c4) D11
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.