Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Spassky Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 h6 11. Be3 Bg4
The Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Spassky Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D34, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 h6 11. Be3 Bg4. It is a line of the Tarrasch Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3 times by this move order. White won 33%, 34% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 12. Rc1 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.51 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 12. h3 Be6 13. Rc1 Rc8 14. Nxe6 fxe6)
- ECO
- D34
- Moves
- 22 plies
- FEN
r2q1rk1/pp2bpp1/2n2n1p/3p4/3N2b1/2N1B1P1/PP2PPBP/R2Q1RK1 w - - 2 12- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 h6 11. Be3 Bg4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 12. Rc1 | 1 (33%) | |
| 12. h3 | 1 (33%) | |
| 12. Qb3 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
26 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 58%, draw 30%, Black 12%). The strongest:
- GM Jan Werle (2517) – GM Alexander Berelowitsch (2543) 1-0 · TCh-NED Meesterklasse 2013-14 · 2013-12-07
- GM Isan Reynaldo Ortiz Suarez (2576) – FM Joshua Daniel Ruiz Castillo (2315) 1-0 · 1st Simon Bolivar Open 2012 · 2012-09-26
- GM Sasa Martinovic (2535) – FM Anatol Vitouch (2325) 1-0 · TCh-AUT 2014-15 · 2014-11-23
- IM Pablo Almagro Llamas (2479) – Ansgar Barthel (2187) 1-0 · Gibraltar Masters 2018 · 2018-01-30
- IM Mohamed Ezat (2413) – FM Dmitrii Marcziter (2241) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 26th Oct · 2021-10-26
Highest-rated Lichess games
- TK-Rana (2381) – furkancelebi (2312) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IM Novoselski (2307) – kenst (2285) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- chaos288 (1811) – Hoffmann64 (1827) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Carlsbad Variation 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5
More Tarrasch Defense lines (all)
- Tarrasch Defense D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Grünfeld Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Marshall Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Schara Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (5. Nf3 Nc6) D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (6. cxd5 exd5) D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Tarrasch Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Two Knights Variation D32
- Tarrasch Defense: von Hennig Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Dubov Tarrasch D33
- Tarrasch Defense: Prague Variation D33
- Tarrasch Defense: Rubinstein System D33
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.