Slav Defense: Exchange Variation (4. cxd5 cxd5)
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5
The Slav Defense: Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D13, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5. It is a line of the Slav Defense. 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 297 times by this move order. White won 48%, 8% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nc3 (81% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.12 (Stockfish, depth 54; best line 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. Qb3 Na5)
- ECO
- D13
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/5n2/3p4/3P4/5N2/PP2PPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 34 | |
| 1500-1999 | 141 | |
| 2000+ | 122 | |
| All | 297 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nc3 | 241 (81%) | |
| 5. e3 | 15 (5%) | |
| 5. g3 | 14 (5%) | |
| 5. Bf4 | 12 (4%) | |
| 5. Bg5 | 12 (4%) | |
| 5. Qa4+ | 2 (1%) |
Master games
1,025 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 26%, draw 53%, Black 21%). The strongest:
- GM Liren Ding (2791) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2778) 1/2-1/2 · Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2020-04-23
- GM Daniil Dubov (2693) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) 1/2-1/2 · Tata Steel India Blitz · 2024-11-16
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2759) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2753) 1/2-1/2 · 10th Norway Blitz 2022 · 2022-05-30
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2775) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2732) 0-1 · World Blitz Final KO 2025 · 2025-12-30
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2728) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2778) 1/2-1/2 · Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2020-04-26
Search all games of the Slav Defense: Exchange Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- DmDonCh (2853) – shahruh94 (2638) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GM rhungaski (2669) – behrooz10000 (2605) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- gsg_1999 (2550) – GuNina1989 (2573) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Slav Defense: Modern Line (2… c6 3. Nf3) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3
Continuations
- Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Trifunovic Variation D14 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 e6 8. Qb3 Bb4
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 (5. Bg2 g6) 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.