Megatheory 1: Semi-Slav

When I was young chess players used  to eagerly await various chess publications containing the latest games and articles on opening theory.  Certain openings were the subject of tremendous scrutiny, and most advanced chess players were familiar with the standard moves up to at least move 15.  In this series of articles.  I am going to revisit some of the opening favorites of my youth and see where the theory stands today.

In this first installment, we look at the semi-Slav Defense, which has some of the most maniacally complicated variations in all of chess.  It was originally developed by such superstars as Mikhail Botvinnik, and these days is part of the repertoire of Alexei Shirov.  The game, featuring David Bronstein is quite representative of the excitement to be found in this opening.