Grünfeld Defense:Exchange Variation

White accepts the challenge: cxd5 and e4 build a big pawn centre that Black will attack with ...c5 and the g7 bishop.

It is reached after 8 moves: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5. It is a line of the Grünfeld Defense.

White is to move and has 31 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 1,059,462 different games. Those games reach 362,290 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 2.9 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 16 further lines after this position, such as Classical Variation (5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4) and Modern Exchange Variation (5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3).

The same moves can be played in 42 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5, which starts as the English Opening.