the Slav Defense

Sort:
Avatar of mitto

Today we're going to talk about one of the most effective openings for black against 1. d4, the Slav Defense which starts after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 with the move 2. ...c6.

 Black first builds a solid foundation in the center and then can choose from various ways to break open the position and attack white. 

 

The history of this opening speaks for itself...

 The Slav Defense was played by 11 of the first 13 World Champions!

 It was featured heavily in the Alekhine-Euwe matches (1935 and 1937) and recently it was one of the main weapons by Kramnik and Anand as a critical component in several, separate World Championship victories.

 

The main variation of the Slav Defense arrives after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3

 

 Black has many choices:

 *An early exchange with 4. ..dxc4

 *Development with 4...e6 known as the Semi-Slav

 *Black can play 4...a6 known as the Chebanenko Slav or the Chameleon Variation. 

 The Chameleon Variation of the Slav Defense with 4. ..a6 is a very popular weapon among the world's best players because it gives black at least equality from the opening so that you can fight from a position of strength in the early middlegame. 

 

If you want to learn more about the 4. ..a6 line, I recommend you check out games of current 2700+ GMs like Kamsky, Topalov, Ivanchuk and McShane.

 

This is a good weapon for you against 1.d4 and compared to other topical openings like the Grunfeld or King's Indian, with the Chameleon Variation of the Slav Defense there is much less opening theory for you to memorize.

 

What I also like is that 1.d4 players will focus much of their energy on other variations, so most of the time you'll have the upper hand in terms of knowledge of the resulting middlegame positions.

Avatar of mitto

الدفاع السلافى جربته مع الاسود وكان اللاعب الابيض اعلى منى فى الرات ونقلاته منطقية وطاغطة لتقليل المساحات امامى ولكننى بالقطع السوداء استطعت الفوز بفضل الله باسلوب جميل وشيق وممتع ودور لم اكن اتوقع ان يخرج بهذا الشكل الساحر فى مباراة بليتز 5 دقائق وإليكم الدور

http://www.viewchess.com/cbreader/2016/1/22/Game2997637.html