Slav Defense: Breyer Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nbd2
The Slav Defense: Breyer Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D11, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nbd2. It is a line of the Slav Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 222 times by this move order. White won 56%, 6% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bf5 (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.03 (Stockfish, depth 47; best line 4… Bf5 5. Nh4 Be4 6. Qb3 Nbd7 7. e3)
- ECO
- D11
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/2p2n2/3p4/2PP4/5N2/PP1NPPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nbd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 10 | |
| 1500-1999 | 73 | |
| 2000+ | 139 | |
| All | 222 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bf5 | 83 (37%) | |
| 4… e6 | 65 (29%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 22 (10%) | |
| 4… a6 | 19 (9%) | |
| 4… g6 | 18 (8%) | |
| 4… Nbd7 | 7 (3%) | |
| 4… h6 | 4 (2%) | |
| 4… dxc4 | 2 (1%) |
Master games
1,276 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 25%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2881) – GM Laurent Fressinet (2717) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Rapid 2014 · 2014-06-17
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2801) 0-1 · 2nd Sinquefield Cup 2014 · 2014-08-31
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2757) – GM Veselin Topalov (2785) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Candidates 2014 · 2014-03-13
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2765) – GM Boris Gelfand (2743) 1-0 · SportAccord Basque 2014 · 2014-12-17
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2765) – GM Boris Gelfand (2743) 1-0 · SportAccord Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-13
Search all games of the Slav Defense: Breyer Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- gammadrill (2591) – IM DenQ (2643) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- gammadrill (2552) – Karlskoga (2562) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- gammadrill (2570) – FM SnekkerAndersen (2531) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Slav Defense: Modern Line (2… c6 3. Nf3) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3
More Slav Defense lines (all)
- Slav Defense (2. c4 c6) D10
- Slav Defense (2… c6 3. Nc3) D10
- Slav Defense (3. Nc3 dxc4) D10
- Slav Defense: Diemer Gambit D10
- Slav Defense: Exchange Variation (2… c6 3. cxd5) D10
- Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Boor Attack D10
- Slav Defense: Slav Gambit, Alekhine Attack D10
- Slav Defense: Winawer Countergambit D10
- Slav Defense: Winawer Countergambit, Anti-Winawer Gambit D10
- Slav Defense: Bonet Gambit D11
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (5. Bg2 g6) D11
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (5… e6 6. O-O) 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.