Slav Defense: Czech Variation, Classical System
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3
The Slav Defense: Czech Variation, Classical System is a chess opening classified as ECO D18, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3. It is a line of the Slav Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 161 times by this move order. White won 36%, 6% were drawn and Black won 58%. The most popular continuation is 6… e6 (92% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.12 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 6… e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Nh4)
- ECO
- D18
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/pp2pppp/2p2n2/5b2/P1pP4/2N1PN2/1P3PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 34 | |
| 2000+ | 127 | |
| All | 161 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… e6 | 148 (92%) | |
| 6… Na6 Czech Variation, Lasker Variation | 6 (4%) | |
| 6… Nbd7 | 4 (2%) | |
| 6… Bd3 | 2 (1%) | |
| 6… a5 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
335 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 27%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- AllieStein v0.7_dev-net_14.3 (3761) – Fire 8_beta (3729) 1-0 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-05
- Fire 8_beta (3729) – AllieStein v0.7_dev-net_14.3 (3761) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-02
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2859) – GM Kirill Shevchenko (2649) 1-0 · MrDodgy Inv 3 Finals · 2022-11-29
- GM Romain Edouard (2653) – GM Vladimir Akopian (2681) 1/2-1/2 · 19th European Teams · 2013-11-16
- GM Alexander Onischuk (2665) – GM Vladimir Akopian (2660) 1/2-1/2 · 10th World Teams 2015 · 2015-04-23
Search all games of the Slav Defense: Czech Variation, Classical System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Vahe_S (2758) – KhatanbaatarGM (2712) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM petrik05 (2694) – IM Chess-Tales (2535) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- FrankyRivers (2575) – Robert_E2009 (2578) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Slav Defense: Czech Variation 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5
Continuations
- Slav Defense: Czech Variation, Lasker Variation D18 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 Na6
- Slav Defense: Czech Variation, Dutch Variation D19 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O
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: Breyer Variation D11
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (2… c6 3. Nf3) 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.