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D44Opening

Semi-Slav Defense:Botvinnik Variation

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4

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Black to move

Legal moves
34
Games in the next 4 moves
2,035,153
Different positions among them
668,930
Named lines from here
5

See it on the mapOn the opening map

Named after Mikhail Botvinnik: one of the sharpest and most deeply analysed lines in the whole Queen’s Gambit.

It is reached after 11 moves: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4. It is a line of the Semi-Slav Defense.

Black is to move and has 34 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 2,035,153 different games. Those games reach 668,930 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 5 further lines after this position, such as Ekstrom Variation (6... b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. exf6 gxh4 10. Ne5).

The same moves can be played in 9,720 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4, which starts as the Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense.

Map of every game of the next four moves after the Semi-Slav Defense: Botvinnik Variation
Every game of the next four moves from this position, as the map draws it. Each ring is one more move; the outer ring holds all 2,035,153 games.

Move by move

  1. 1. d4Queen's Pawn Game
  2. 1... d5Queen's Pawn Game
  3. 2. c4Queen's Gambit
  4. 2... c6Slav Defense
  5. 3. Nf3Slav Defense: Modern Line
  6. 3... Nf6—
  7. 4. Nc3Slav Defense: Three Knights Variation
  8. 4... e6Semi-Slav Defense
  9. 5. Bg5—
  10. 5... dxc4Semi-Slav Defense Accepted
  11. 6. e4Semi-Slav Defense: Botvinnik Variation

Named lines from here

Related openings

FEN

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