Slav Defense: Smyslov Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Na6
The Slav Defense: Smyslov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D16, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Na6. It is a line of the Slav Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 11 times by this move order. White won 45%, 0% were drawn and Black won 55%. The most popular continuation is 6. e3 (45% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.79 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 6. e4 Bg4 7. Bxc4 Bxf3 8. gxf3 e6)
- ECO
- D16
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp2pppp/n1p2n2/8/P1pP4/2N2N2/1P2PPPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Na6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 10 | |
| All | 11 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. e3 | 5 (45%) | |
| 6. e4 | 5 (45%) | |
| 6. Bg5 | 1 (9%) |
Master games
100 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 31%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 202004181536 (3851) – LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3840) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-27
- LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3840) – Stockfish 202004181536 (3851) 1/2-1/2 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-27
- Stoofvlees II a14 (3846) – ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-31
- ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) – Stoofvlees II a14 (3846) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-27
- LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) – Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-10-31
Search all games of the Slav Defense: Smyslov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Reikoda (2460) – Arrroww (2434) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- reallyAnonym (2399) – alexsander-fish (2445) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Grundtvig (2394) – alexsander-fish (2445) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Slav Defense: Alapin Variation 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4
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.