Slav Defense: Black's e6!? in the Nc3-e3 Setup

In the continuation of my Slav Defense series, I wanted to talk about white's Nc3-e3 setup.

We will look at the move e6!?, which, although it is the main move, is going to fall out of popularity.

Bf5! is rapidly becoming more popular. Yes, it is a gambit, but black has great play for the pawn, and if white decides not to take the pawn, the black bishop is outside of the pawn chain.

Simply to show you the line:

Anyways, back to the e6 lines.

Nothing is particularly wrong with this line, and if you are not a good player with the initiative, I recommend using this line instead of the Bf5 move.

Both sides' plans are easy to understand. Black is aiming for an eventual e5; white is aiming for an eventual e4. Both sides would then have a space advantage.

Let's go through the main line move-by-move:

We have reached the critical moment of the variation. If you have been following my blogs, you will know what to play here.

If you found this move, give yourself a pat on the back! Black would want to play e5, but then the d5 pawn becomes extremely weak:

dxc4, although removing the tension in the center, allows white to play e5 next.

After white takes back, black has two main moves:

A) b5

B) e5

Let's start with the move b5. 

This move gains space, gives the black bishop a home on b7 if black manages to play c5, and also attacks the white bishop. However, the downside is that black gets a bad pawn structure. Of course, if black manages to play c5, his pawns will be excellent, but if not...black will have a worse position.

Against this move I recommend a certain gambit line, leading to a superior endgame for white:

Black has a rather uncomfortable position, and for that reason, I recommend playing e5! immediately:

In my opinion, the game is only slightly better for white, who has a comfortable position but nothing concrete. Black's opening can definetly be called a success.

Hopefully this blog was of use to you, whetever you play the Slav from white or black. If you liked the blog, consider sending me a friend request to get notified whenever I post.

Thanks for reading :)