Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (5. Nf3 Nc6)
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6
The Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D32, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6. 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 134 times by this move order. White won 45%, 9% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 6. cxd5 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 6. a3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 a6 8. O-O b5)
- ECO
- D32
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp3ppp/2n1pn2/2pp4/2PP4/2N1PN2/PP3PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 3 6- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 11 | |
| 1500-1999 | 64 | |
| 2000+ | 59 | |
| All | 134 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. cxd5 | 45 (34%) | |
| 6. a3 | 28 (21%) | |
| 6. Be2 | 28 (21%) | |
| 6. Bd3 | 16 (12%) | |
| 6. b3 | 7 (5%) | |
| 6. Ne5 | 5 (4%) | |
| 6. dxc5 | 2 (1%) | |
| 6. g3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
295 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 27%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Gukesh D (2732) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2775) 0-1 · 11th Norway Chess 2023 · 2023-05-31
- GM Gukesh D (2743) – GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2727) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Candidates 2024 · 2024-04-04
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2781) – GM Aryan Tari (2650) 1-0 · Chess.com Rapid W10 Swiss · 2022-04-16
- GM A.R. Saleh Salem (2682) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2704) 0-1 · Goldmoney Asian Prelim · 2021-06-27
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2738) – GM Shant Sargsyan (2646) 1-0 · World Rapid 2024 · 2024-12-27
Search all games of the Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Akula_Krakula (2633) – lky1923CHN (2598) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Xaalt (2459) – jaquepapito (2431) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- ISIPATHANA (2386) – Dmitry_Gritsenko (2474) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Tarrasch Defense 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5
More Tarrasch Defense lines (all)
- Tarrasch Defense: Grünfeld Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Marshall Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Schara Gambit 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
- Tarrasch Defense: Swedish Variation D33
- Tarrasch Defense: Swedish Variation, Central Break 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.