As Black
Grünfeld Defence
The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening for Black that starts with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5.
Black lets White build a big pawn centre and then attacks it with ...c5, the g7 bishop and the pieces.
Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero
6 lines
Against Bf4
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5
Exchange Variation: Rb1
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Rb1 O-O 9.Be2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Qa5+
Exchange Variation: Bc4 and Ne2
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O
Against Bg5
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bg5 Ne4 6.Bh4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 dxc4
Russian System: Qb3
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 Bg4
Against the fianchetto
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O c5
Frequently asked questions
Is the Grünfeld Defence good for beginners?
It is better suited to experienced players. On OpeningCraft it is aimed at players with Elo over 2000. It suits players who like attacks, gambits and open positions.
How many lines of the Grünfeld Defence do you need to learn?
OpeningCraft teaches 6, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.