In the Slav Defense, Black starts to fight for the center from the very beginning of the game and creates a very solid c6-d5 pawn chain. He has three main options here: After the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6, White is again at a crossroad. The most common continuations are 4...dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 or 5...Bg4. For many years, the logical move 4…Bf5 was considered to be bad for Black in view of 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3, targeting the pawn on b7. In these lines, Black can’t play on autopilot but needs to know some precise moves. And what are the main lines and the latest theoretical developments for both sides? It’s very instructive to watch his play in one of the main lines. If you want to study the latter move more deeply, the following video should be of interest to you. The position may readily be reached by a number of different move orders.With Black advancing pawns to both e6 and c6, the opening resembles a mixture of the Orthodox Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD) and the Slav Defense. There are several reasons to play the Slav Defense: Active learning is the key to success in chess. Read this. We’ll explain all the key ideas. Semi-Slav. He has no less than five main options here: A short disclaimer needs to be made at this point about the Semi-Slav Defense which is not covered in this article but will be the focus of a future article. White can also try the following alternatives: A line that is similar to the Catalan Opening is 4.Qc2 or 4.Qb3. Also, if Black later takes the gambit pawn with ...dxc4, the support provided by the pawn on c6 (and possibly ...a6) allows ...b5 which may threaten to keep the pawn, or drive away a white piece that has captured it, gaining Black a tempo for queenside expansion. If you want to know how to study chess openings the right way, read this detailed and easy-to-scan guide, Click here to get instant access with 50% off, Best Chess Openings for Beginners: The Definitive Guide, How to Learn Chess Openings – The Definitive Guide, Chess Openings for Black – The Ultimate Guide To Win With Black, Calculation Masterclass with IM Erlend Mikalsen, Attacking Play Manual with IM David Fitzsimons, Top 5 Tried-And-True Chess Defenses For Black, Chess Video Training Guide: From Chess Beginner to Expert, Free Online Chess Websites Certain To Improve Your Game, Master The King’s Gambit with GM Marian Petrov, characterized by the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6, named after players from Slavic countries who contributed many ideas to the development of this opening, played by many strong GMs of the past and present (featured in plenty of World Championship Matches), Not comfortable playing with the Black pieces? The Slav can be entered by many move orders. With 2…c6, Black supports his d-pawn with the c-pawn instead of the e-pawn. Another way to play is 4...Bg4. Recently the Gambit 4...Bf5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3 Nc6 7.Qxb7 Bd7 has revitalized 4...Bf5. Petroff's defense 32.1. Alapin Variation: 5.a4; alternatives to 5...Bf5, "Slav Defense: Exchange, Symmetrical Line - Chess Openings", "Slav Defense: Exchange, Symmetrical Line, 7.e3 e6 8.Bd3 - Chess Openings", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slav_Defense&oldid=999043987, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2013, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. In order to properly learn a new opening, it is not enough to take a close look at theoretical lines – you also need to study some classical model games. White can also play 4.e3 when it was thought Black could no longer play the "Pure" Slav with 4...Bf5 (and had to choose between 4...e6 or 4...a6) due to 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3. Get instant access to this 8-hour course on the Slav with 50% off. The Slav Defense is one of the most popular chess openings for Black in response to 1.d4 and enjoys a reputation of being one of the safest replies against the Queen’s Gambit. Don’t just study the opening and early middlegame but instead play the entire game. Many masters of Slavic descent helped develop the theory of this opening, including Alapin, Alekhine, Bogoljubov, and Vidmar. Vladimir Kramnik, for instance, used the Slav Defense in six of his eight games with Black during his World Chess Championship match against Veselin Topalov in 2006. The pressure on Black's center prevents 3...Bf5? Black should not play 4...Bf5 because White will gain the advantage with either 5.Qb3 or 5.cxd5 followed by 6.Qb3. With the move 4.e3, White strengthens his d4-pawn and protects the pawn on c4 with his bishop. If Black gets an equal position without having to make any tough decisions in the opening, he should feel comfortable. Nc3 e6. Most importantly, you get a better overall understanding of the positions arising from your opening. Still, there are great chess books like Chess for Zebras: Thinking Differently about Black and White by Jonathan Rowson who claims that while White has some advantages by being allowed to make the first moves, Black has some other advantages. That means that your hard work on this line will definitely be rewarded. In these cases, Black gets a good game. On many occasions, for example, Black can capture the White c4-pawn with his d-pawn and defend it with the move …b7-b5, claiming an extra pawn. White can achieve an important space advantage with 5.c5. If any opening were perfect, it would be played by everyone! You can study these variations separately and add them to your repertoire as you go along. Required fields are marked *. Yet, it’s just like most other chess openings for Black – if White does not take any risk in the opening and plays very solidly, Black needs to be patient. In the main line of the Slav Defense white looks to dominate the center of the board and black looks to develop both bishops and maintain a solid pawn structure. The current Champion, Magnus Carlsen, played the opening in his match with Sergey Karjakin in 2016. It’s a very solid and reliable opening which also helps you to become a better overall strategic player. Your email address will not be published. Slav Bot will repeat whatever you tell it to in reverse. First of all, the Slav Defense is considered to be one of the most successful openings and has an excellent score in chess databases. The Slav Defense, however, after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 addresses both of these problems for Black. must-read guide on chess openings for Black. This is a very sound defense for black and one that is hard to crack for white. First of all, against 4.e3, we’ve introduced you to the Schallopp Variation with an early 4…Bf5. We’re going to see a fighting game in one of the main lines of the Slav Defense: The following game is another well-known fight from the World Chess Championship match between Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. The Slav received an exhaustive test during the two Alekhine–Euwe World Championship matches in 1935 and 1937. The move 4.g3 leads to a relatively rare and harmless sideline which Black does not need to fear. Black seeks an early b5, either before or after capturing at c4. Before continuing, try to solve these 4 puzzles featuring typical tactical motifs that frequently arise from this opening. It is very flexible and usually leads to complex play in the middlegame. In his course Deep Dive: The Slav, GM Damian Lemos provides 8 hours of training that leaves you with a solid mastery of this great opening …well-armed to deal with any 1.d4 player you encounter. It is very rarely known at club level and, trust me here, if you wing it out against an unsuspecting opponent you will shock them. In this video, FM Will Stewart covers two classical games to provide you with the key ideas for Black in this variation. White can avoid the complexities of the main line 4.Nc3 by playing 4.e3. Thanks to the asymmetrical pawn structure (especially in the lines with …dxc4) that arises from several variations, the Slav Defense is also an opening you can use to play for a win. Tarrasch defense 27.14. variation with 5. We need to create a complete roadmap of the lines and variations we need to study when we want to play the Slav Defense. Of course, there are numerous plans that may help Black to activate his light-squared bishop later in the game. The Czech Variation can be considered the main line. After the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6, White is at a crossroad. Black can try the Winawer Countergambit, 3...e5, which was introduced in Marshall–Winawer, Monte Carlo 1901 but this is thought to be slightly better for White. It has been played by World Champions Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik and Vassily Smyslov, among others, and also by several modern World Champions. Queen's pawn game 30. The Slav Defense is a strong opening for club players, and you should consider giving it a go to expand your horizons. Before we dive into any lines, it’s always a wise decision to take a look at the broader picture. With the classical lines covered, we’re going to take a closer look at the modern attempts from White, including an early Qb3, attacking the Black pawn on b7: If White plays 3.Nc3, play can easily transpose into one of the mainlines. This game is a nice illustration to show that Black can win in the Slav Defense even against the Exchange Variation. Many great games have been played in the Slav Defense and it’s definitely worth studying them. But out of this (Slav-) position I always get into the
. Why play the Slav Defense at all? Play usually continues 5...b5 6.e5 Nd5 7.a4 e6, but it is unclear whether the attack is strong enough for the sacrificed pawn. Therefore, "Pure" Slav players sometimes meet 3.Nc3 with 3...dxc4, the Argentinian Defense, which can transpose to the main line of the "Pure" Slav. The variation with 4.e3 is a rather positional line for White which received mainline status thanks to the efforts of GM Boris Avrukh who recommended it for White in his “Grandmaster Repertoire 1 – 1.d4 Volume One”. Free shipping to North America and Europe. With this game, GM Joel Benjamin not only shows the dangers of the 6.Ne5 line, but he also points out ways for Black to deviate from what happened in the game. Be careful not to miss the forest for the trees! However, the setups with the bishop on g2 against the Slav Defense are only good for White if the Black light-squared bishop is boxed inside his own pawn chain (the positions where Black played an early …e6 before bringing out the bishop). Both e5 and b6 become important pawn breaks for Black. The focus is on a general understanding of the resulting middlegame and endgame positions. Queen's Gambit Declined Slav (1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3) : chess opening performance statistics, strategy and tactics, famous games, PGN download, discussion forum, and more. The main idea of this opening becomes clear when we take a closer look at the main problem that comes with playing the Queen’s Gambit Declined with Black. However, 4…Bf5 saves you a lot of time studying theory and there is also a good chance that many White players at club level are not familiar with the most ambitious variation. The most common continuation is 4...Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4, when White wins the bishop pair but Black gets a solid position and often gets counterplay with ...e5. Secondly, in the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Black’s pawn structure after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 (see the diagram to the left) gives White an extra central pawn and the opportunity to start a minority attack on the queenside. Black's queen bishop is unblocked; the pawn structure remains balanced. Secondly, with a pawn on c6, Black can meet White’s cxd5 move with …cxd5, leaving a symmetrical structure and not allowing White to launch a minority attack. The black bishop will continue threatening the f2 square as long as it stays on the g1-a7 diagonal. This knight often has to be developed to the more modest d7 square. Black has many counter attacking lines that white has to be aware of once the game reaches the middle game. In fact, it carries some hidden bite. Some of them were Alekhine, Bogoljubow, and Vidmar. Therefore, Black does not need to fear this line and does not need to know too much theory here. The very closely linked Slav and Semi-Slav Defences are two of the most popular and combative openings that Black can play against the Queen's Gambit. This line is often used as a drawing weapon and if both players want to draw, they can play the symmetrical line, which continues 3...cxd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Bf5, where the position is totally symmetrical and every piece is developed to a good square. The Slav Defense is an excellent opening which allows you to vary a lot within your own system. The variation with 4.Qc2/4.Qb3 is a very solid line for White. [citation needed], After 4...dxc4, the main line is 5.a4. Your email address will not be published. Play can proceed 5...b5 6.a4 b4. Equalizing with Black is the first step to later taking over the initiative. White's sharpest try against 4...dxc4 is the Slav Geller Gambit, 5.e4. Black can also try the following alternatives: In the Steiner Variation (also called the Bronstein Variation), 5...Bg4, White may be discouraged from e4 by the possibility 6.e4 e5. The fact that the position is symmetrical and equal does not mean that it has to end in a draw. According to the opening explorer most games of these variations are classified as D11. This helps us to keep track of the jungle of variations. Black players have tried several ideas against this setup. [1] After 3.cxd5 cxd5, the symmetrical position offers White only the advantage of the extra move, but the drawish position offers Black little chance to win unless White is overly ambitious. Slav defense also has a better pawn skeleton for Black and prevents the likelihood of an attack by White pawns on the Q-side. Master Chess Openings, Chess Databases, Chess Games, Chess Openings, Chess Tools, Grand Masters, Chess Program, Chess Tactics, Eco Code System, Chess Books Slav defense 27.13. It is one of the most trusted openings in chess, popular at all levels from beginner to strong grandmasters. In the main line semi-slav, after 4...e6 5.Bg5 (5.e3 defends c4 of course) dxc4 6.a4, Black has the option 6...Bb4 (thanks to...e6!) Black has to play 7...Qxb3, which will be met by 8.axb3. Black usually plays 3...Nf6. Checking complete games has various advantages. Which opening traps and typical tactical motifs should Black be aware of? There is also a lesser option, the Schlechter Slav with ...g6, The pawn structure offers White targets, especially the possibility of a, This page was last edited on 8 January 2021, at 06:13. There are many games in the Exchange Variation where Black outplayed a White player who only wanted to draw with this line. However, White has an additional option after 4.Qc2 as he does not need to immediately recapture the pawn on c4 after 4…dxc4. The opening operates on similar principles to those in the Stonewall Attack and French Defense, in that the pawns will be placed primarily on 1 color (in the Slav Defense, the light-squares c6, d5, e6) and the pieces will emphasize control of the dark squares in the center (c5, d6, e5 etc.). 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 A more energetic line begins 6.Ne5 (Krause Attack) where White intends f2–f3 and e2–e4 or Nxc4, perhaps followed by a fianchetto of the king bishop with g2–g3 and Bg2. There is a lot more theory here, but the good news is that, according to the current state of theory, White has not found a way to prove an advantage. Slav defense is a beautiful and durable opening that is important for any player to know. Many unsuccessful attempts have been made from the White side to destroy this reputation the documentation to get instant with! Will gain the advantage with either 5.Qb3 or 5.cxd5 followed by 6.Qb3 's counter-attacking... 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