D47Opening
Semi-Slav Defense:Meran Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5
White to move
- Legal moves
- 42
- Games in the next 4 moves
- 1,979,424
- Different positions among them
- 624,269
- Named lines from here
- 16
Named after the 1924 tournament in Merano, Italy. Black takes on c4 and expands on the queenside with ...b5.
It is reached after 14 moves: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5. It is a line of the Semi-Slav Defense.
White is to move and has 42 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 1,979,424 different games. Those games reach 624,269 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3.2 on average.
The Lichess opening list names 16 further lines after this position, such as Wade Variation (8. Bd3 Bb7) and Lundin Variation (8. Bd3 b4).

Move by move
- 1. d4Queen's Pawn Game
- 1... d5Queen's Pawn Game
- 2. c4Queen's Gambit
- 2... c6Slav Defense
- 3. Nc3Slav Defense
- 3... Nf6—
- 4. e3—
- 4... e6—
- 5. Nf3Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line
- 5... Nbd7Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation
- 6. Bd3Semi-Slav Defense: Main Line
- 6... dxc4—
- 7. Bxc4Semi-Slav Defense: Semi-Meran Variation
- 7... b5Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation
Named lines from here
- Meran VariationD488. Bd3 a6
- Wade VariationD478. Bd3 Bb7
- Lundin VariationD478. Bd3 b4
- Chigorin DefenseD468. Bd3 Bd6 9. O-O Bb7 10. a3 O-O 11. Qc2
Related openings
- Slav DefenseD101. d4 d5 2. c4 c6
- Slav Defense: Exchange VariationD101. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5
- Slav Defense: Czech VariationD171. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5
- Slav Defense: Chebanenko VariationD151. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6
- Semi-Slav DefenseD431. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6
FEN
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