Slav Defense: Modern Line (5… Nbd7 6. c4)
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 Bg4 5. O-O Nbd7 6. c4
The Slav Defense: Modern Line is a chess opening classified as ECO D11, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 Bg4 5. O-O Nbd7 6. c4. 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 5 times by this move order. White won 40%, 20% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 6… e6 (80% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.24 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 6… e6 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. c5 Qxb3 9. axb3)
- ECO
- D11
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r2qkb1r/pp1npppp/2p2n2/3p4/2PP2b1/5NP1/PP2PPBP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 Bg4 5. O-O Nbd7 6. c4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… e6 | 4 (80%) | |
| 6… dxc4 | 1 (20%) |
Master games
22 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 32%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- GM Ahmed Adly (2631) – GM Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko (2604) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-TUR 1st League 2018 · 2018-07-19
- IM Lela Javakhishvili (2433) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th Jan Early · 2024-01-30
- GM Alexander Goldin (2541) – GM Alexander Shabalov (2478) 0-1 · ch-USA Seniors 2025 · 2025-07-24
- IM Ann Matnadze Bujiashvili (2422) – GM Nana Dzagnidze (2547) 0-1 · 40th Olympiad Women · 2012-09-09
- GM Ahmed Adly (2597) – WGM Betul Cemre Yildiz Kadioglu (2302) 1/2-1/2 · 9th Mediterranean Cup · 2014-09-05
Search all games of the Slav Defense: Modern Line and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Runfromthesunlight (2503) – poppy5 (2252) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 3s
- D_Uncrowned_Champ (2214) – predator30 (2345) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- fajarislam2000 (1941) – Trapalanda (2034) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Queen's Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation, Pseudo-Catalan (4. Bg2 Bg4) 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 Bg4
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.