Jump to content

Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...c6/3. Nf3

From Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Slav Defence
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black kingd7 black kinge7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black pawnd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black pawne5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 white pawnd4 white pawne4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 black kingd2 black kinge2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3

Slav Defence

[edit | edit source]

3.Nf3

[edit | edit source]

With the most common move in the Slav, 3.Nf3, White develops their knight and exerts more control over the e5-square. Similar to 3.Nc3, black should avoid 3...Bf5 as 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 effectively wins a pawn. However, unlike 3.Nc3, 3...dxc4 should also be avoided as white is better after 4. e3 and 5. a4 since white will win back the pawn as the Knight on f3 is not vulnerable to a b5-b4 pawn push. As such, black only has 2 main responses.

3...Nf6 is Black's by far Black's most common reply, and play from white typically transposes into a semi-slav with 4. Nc3, although some unique lines exist such as 4. e3 ("Slow Slav") where Nc3 is delayed or not played at all.

3...e6 is occasionally seen, and play typically transposes back to 3...Nf6 variations, with some exceptions.

3...a6 is also a solid option for black, albeit rarely seen. Play typically transposes to the main line of the Chebanenko variation of the slav, although white can opt for a catalan-style setup with 4. g3 instead.

Theory table

[edit | edit source]

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3

3 4 5 6 7 Eval
Semi-Slav Defence ...
e6
Nc3
Nf6
e3
Nbd7
Bd3
dxc4
Bxc4
b5
...
Nf6
Nc3
e6
See above line
Slav Accepted ...
...
...
dxc4
a4
Bf5
e3
e6
Bxc4
Bb4
+/=
...
dxc4
e3
b5
a4
e6
axb5
cxb5
b3
Bb4+
+/−
...
Bf5
cxd5
cxd5
Qb3
Nc6
e4
dxe4
Ne5
Nxe5
+/−
Slav, Chebanenko ...
a6
Nc3
Nf6
c5
Nbd7
Bf4
Nh5
Bd2
Nhf6
+/=

When contributing to this Wikibook, please follow the Conventions for organization.

References

[edit | edit source]