It is usually done right after white's Bd3 because considering the bishop moves again the very next move with Bxc4 the Bd3 is taken advantage of. White however must play either Bd3 or Be2 in order to castle. And it DOES help you in your c5 or e5 ambitions because if you want to play those moves with the pawn still on d5 it might fall victim to combinations with dxe5 or dxc5 opening the d-file for Queen or maybe rook. I hope you understand what I mean.
And sometimes after white's Bxc4 you can play an immediate b5 in those kind of positions.
Why play ...dxc4?
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May 29, 2014
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To add to Serotonine, black has the posibility of Ne4! and Nd5 later on in the middlegame, both of which place the knight in a very strong position. This is why the Bd3 variation of the Semi-Slav is very good for Black.
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!
I was wondering why in this position, ...dxc4 was considered a strong move. Usually, I would just castle and try to play for ...c5. ...dxc4 gives up a center pawn for a wing pawn, and doesn't help me in my c5 or e5 ambitions. So why is it so popular?