Slav Defense: Modern Line (2… c6 3. Nf3)
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3
The Slav Defense: Modern Line is a chess opening classified as ECO D11, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3. It is a line of the Slav Defense. Black is to move. 9 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 19,447 times by this move order. White won 51%, 6% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nf6 (59% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.20 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3… Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4)
- ECO
- D11
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/3p4/2PP4/5N2/PP2PPPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3,616 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9,839 | |
| 2000+ | 5,992 | |
| All | 19,447 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nf6 | 11,379 (59%) | |
| 3… e6 | 2,776 (14%) | |
| 3… Bf5 | 2,107 (11%) | |
| 3… Bg4 | 1,397 (7%) | |
| 3… dxc4 | 618 (3%) | |
| 3… g6 | 289 (1%) | |
| 3… h6 | 218 (1%) | |
| 3… a6 | 175 (1%) |
Master games
10,167 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 25%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2778) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2020-04-24
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Steinitz Mem Open · 2020-05-16
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2778) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2835) 1-0 · Chessable Masters GpB · 2020-06-21
- GM Quang Liem Le (2728) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) 0-1 · FTX Crypto Cup 2022 · 2022-08-18
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2822) – GM Levon Aronian (2767) 1/2-1/2 · 6th Sinquefield Cup 2018 · 2018-08-19
Search all games of the Slav Defense: Modern Line and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM gmbrewchess (3001) – ChessStudyZone (2612) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GM AtalikS (2642) – GM xiaochess (2934) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GM sillyMASTER (2848) – ChessElation94 (2715) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Slav Defense (2. c4 c6) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6
Continuations
- Slav Defense: Bonet Gambit D11 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Bg5
- Slav Defense: Breyer Variation D11 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nbd2
- Slav Defense: Quiet Variation D11 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3
- Slav Defense: Three Knights Variation D15 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3
- Slav Defense: Exchange Variation (4. cxd5 cxd5) D13 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (5. Bg2 g6) D11 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 g6
- Slav Defense: Modern Line (5… e6 6. O-O) D11 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bg4 5. Bg2 e6 6. O-O
- Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Rabinovich Variation E09 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qc2 e6 5. Nbd2 Be7 6. g3 Nbd7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O b5
- Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense (9… O-O 10. Qc2) D46 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 e6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bd6 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qc2
More Slav Defense lines (all)
- 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: Modern Line (5… Nbd7 6. c4) D11
- Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Pin Defense D11
- Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Amsterdam Variation D12
- Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Landau Variation D12
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.