Everything You Need to Know About Semi Slav and Slav Defense

Slav defense is a beautiful and durable opening that is important for any player to know. If you want to become better in chess you should study Slav and Semi Slav Defense in order to improve your aggression and make very good openings. Nowadays, many top players use Slav Defense and it’s one of the openings that I like to use. Slav Defense is strongly related to Queen’s Gambit and I encourage you to read my other articles on the Declined one and the Accepted one which I am sure that you will find them equally interesting as this one.

An introduction to Semi Slav and Slav Defense

The moves of this opening are 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6.

rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/3p4/2PP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.

Let’s check the more important variations of the Slav opening.

Semi Slav Defense

Semi Slav Defense is an opening that is full of aggressive gameplay by both sides. The moves of this opening are 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6. Let’s see a game of Semi Slav Defense.

[ECO "D31"] [Opening "QGD: semi-Slav, Marshall gambit"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 e6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Ne2 Na6 9. Bf8 $1 {[%xcpdao l]} 9... Ne7 ({It’s a mistake to capture the Bishop.} 9... Kxf8 10. Qd8#) 10. Bxg7 Nb4 11. Qd6 Nd3+ 12. Kd2 Nf5 * You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Exchange Variation

This variation begins with the following moves, 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5. It’s interesting how White is trying to exploit his extra tempo in a symmetrical position and play without risk. On the other hand, Black is trying not to give an advantage to White.

rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/8/3p4/3P4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.

Czech Variation

The Czech Variation of the Slav Defense was one of the favorite openings of the World Champion, Vasily Smyslov.

[ECO "D17"] [Opening "QGD Slav: Czech defense"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 * You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Botvinnik Variation, Semi Slav Defense

It’s an opening with complex positions and many attacks.

[ECO "D43"] [Opening "QGD: semi-Slav"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 * You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Meran Variation

[ECO "D47"] [Opening "QGD: semi-Slav, Meran variation"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 * You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Abrahams Variation

The beginning moves of the Abrahams Variation are 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6.

rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/2p1p3/3p4/2PP4/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.

Marshall Variation

The Marshall Variation is an opening on which White is playing extremely aggressively and Black is trying to prepare a good defense. The moves are 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.e4.

rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/2p1p3/3p4/2PPP3/2N5/PP3PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.

Illustrative Games of Semi Slav and Slav Defense

Like all my other articles, I have chosen some amazing games. They have been played by top players and you can gain valuable lessons from these games. So, I think it’s a great idea to analyze each move and I wrote some comments to help you.

Soultanbeieff Variation

[Event "Alekhine - Bogoljubov World Championship Match"] [Site "Wiesbaden GER"] [Date "1929.09.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Alexander Alekhine"] [Black "Efim Bogoljubov"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D16"] [Opening "QGD Slav: Soultanbeieff variation"] [PlyCount "51"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 {[%xcpdao l]} 5... e6 $2 ({A better move is} 5... Bf5) 6. e4 Bb4 7. e5 Nd5 8. Bd2 Bxc3 9. bxc3 b5 10. Ng5 $1 {Alexander Alekhine (White) was planning an attack with his Knight by moving him in e4 square. Later on, he can move it on d6 square and threaten the King.} 10... f6 {Efim Bogoljubov (Black) weakened his defense by making that move.} 11. exf6 $1 {[%xcpdao l]} 11... Nxf6 $2 ({Efim Bogoljubov (Black) should have played} 11... gxf6 $1) 12. Be2 a6 13. Bf3 $1 h6 14. Bh5+ Nxh5 15. Qxh5+ Kd7 16. Nf7 Qe8 17. Qg6 Rg8 18. Bf4 {[%xcpdao l]} 18... Bb7 ({An interesting variation is} 18... Rf8 19. Ne5+ Kd8 20. Qe4) 19. Bg3 Ke7 20. Bd6+ Kd7 21. O-O c5 22. dxc5 Bd5 23. axb5 axb5 24. Rxa8 Bxa8 25. Ra1 {[%xcpdao l]} 25... Nc6 ({If Bogoljubov played} 25... Bb7 26. Ra7 Kc8 27. Bg3 {Alekhine would win.}) 26. Ne5+ $1 {The World Champion Alekhine won the game in a very creative way. The game could be continued 26…Nxe5 27.Ra7+ Kc6 28.Qe4#} 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Semi Slav, Hastings variation

[Event "Lvov 49/488 Dreev,A"] [Site "zt"] [Date "1990.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Igor Novikov"] [Black "Alexey Dreev"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D43"] [Opening "QGD: semi-Slav, Hastings variation"] [PlyCount "60"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 a5 8. e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 Bb4+ 10. Kd1 Qf4 $5 {That’s a very sharp variation of Slav Defense.} 11. Bd3 f5 $1 12. Ng3 c5 $5 13. a3 a4 14. Qc2 Ba5 15. Qxa4+ Bd7 16. Qc2 cxd4 {[%xcpdao l]} 17. Ne2 $6 {A better move for Igor Novikov is} (17. Qc1 Ba4+ 18. Ke2 Qd6 19. b4 {and Novikov has a slight advantage because he will move the Rook at e1 square.}) 17... Qg4 18. Nexd4 Nc6 19. Nb5 Qxg2 20. Ke2 Qg4 21. Rhg1 Qh5 {[%xcpdao l]} 22. Rg3 ({Igor Novikov correctly didn’t play} 22. Rxg7 $2 Ne5 23. Nd6+ Kd8 24. Nxb7+ Kc7 {because the Knight at f3 square would have been vulnerable}) 22... Ne5 23. Nd4 Nxf3 24. Nxf3 Bc6 25. b4 Bxb4 26. axb4 Rxa1 27. Qb2 Rg1 $1 {Alexey Dreev played an amazing move.} 28. Qe5 Rxg3 29. Qxe6+ Kd8 30. Qd6+ Kc8 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Czech Defense

[Site "Paris"] [Date "1932.??.??"] [White "Kann"] [ECO "D17"] [Opening "QGD Slav: Czech defense"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Nh4 Bd7 7. e3 b5 8. Nf3 e6 9. Ne5 a6 10. Qf3 Ra7 11. g4 Bd6 12. g5 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Nd5 14. Ne4 O-O 15. Rg1 Nb4 16. Nf6+ $1 {[%xcpdao l]} 16... Kh8 ({Black could not play} 16... gxf6 17. gxf6+ Kh8 18. Rg7 Rg8 19. Rxh7+ Kxh7 20. Qh5# {Kann sacrificed his Knight and Black couldn’t respond properly.}) 17. Qh5 {The Queen was creating a serious threat for a checkmate.[%xcpdao l]} 17... h6 ({If Black played} 17... gxf6 18. Rg3 {Kann would have a big advantage.}) 18. g6 Nc2+ 19. Ke2 Be8 20. Qxh6+ $1 {That was a very elegant sacrifice of the Queen. Black is forced to capture it.} 20... gxh6 21. g7# * You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Slav Defense, 4.e3

[Event "Bundesliga 2011/12"] [Site "?"] [Date "2012.02.26"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Robert Fontaine"] [Black "Evgeny Najer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D11/11"] [WhiteElo "2552"] [BlackElo "2637"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"] [Opening "QGD Slav: 4.e3"] [PlyCount "83"] 1. d4 Nf6 {The Russian Evgeny Najer is considered a specialist in Slav Defense. He tried to take by surprise of his opponent by moving the Knight in his first move.} 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Nh4 Be7 8. h3 Bh5 9. g4 Bg6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. g5 Ne4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Qc2 Qa5+ 14. Bd2 {[%xcpdao l]} 14... Qf5 $2 ({Evgeny Najer was forced to play} 14... Qxg5) 15. f4 $1 Na6 16. Bg2 Bb4 17. a3 Bxd2+ 18. Kxd2 {[%xcpdao l]} 18... e5 $5 ({If Evgeny Najer played} 18... Qa5+ 19. b4 Qd8 20. Qxe4 {Robert Fontaine would have a big advantage.}) 19. Bxe4 Qe6 20. fxe5 O-O-O 21. Kc3 $1 Rxh3 22. Rxh3 Qxh3 23. Qf2 Nc7 24. Rh1 Qe6 25. Rh7 Rg8 {[%xcpdao l]} 26. Qh4 $6 ({Robert Fontaine should have played} 26. Bg2) 26... Qe8 27. Bg2 Kb8 28. Bh3 a6 29. Qf4 Qe7 30. e4 {Robert Fontaine was preparing to advance the pawn at d4 square.} 30... Ne6 31. Bxe6 fxe6 32. Qf6 Qd7 33. Qxg6 {[%xcpdao l]} 33... Rf8 $2 ({The only good move was} 33... Rd8) 34. Qxg7 Rf3+ 35. Kc2 Rf2+ 36. Kc3 Rf3+ 37. Kc2 Rf2+ 38. Kb3 Rxb2+ {[%xcpdao l]} 39. Kc3 $1 ({The Rook couldn’t have been captured because} 39. Kxb2 $2 Qxd4+ 40. Kc2 Qxc4+ 41. Kd2 Qd4+ 42. Ke2 Qxe4+ 43. Kf2 Qf4+ 44. Kg2 Qg4+ 45. Kh2 Qf4+ 46. Kh3 Qf1+ 47. Kh4 Qe1+ {Fontaine would lose victory from the palm of his hands and the game would end in a draw.}) 39... Qxg7 40. Rxg7 Re2 41. Kd3 Ra2 42. d5 {That’s a classic endgame that Fontaine would have won. The game ended on this move. The following moves are hypothetical.} 42... Rxa3+ 43. Kd4 cxd5 44. exd5 exd5 45. e6 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Slav Defense, Championship Match

[Event "Lasker - Schlechter World Championship Match"] [Site "Berlin GER"] [Date "1910.02.08"] [Round "10"] [White "Emanuel Lasker"] [Black "Carl Schlechter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D11/11"] [Opening "QGD Slav: 4.e3"] [PlyCount "141"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. Qc2 Na6 8. a3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 {[%xcpdao l]} 9... b5 $2 ({Carl Schlechter (Black) should have played} 9... Nc7 {and none of the players would have the advantage.}) 10. Bd3 b4 $6 11. Na4 bxa3 12. bxa3 Bb7 13. Rb1 $1 Qc7 14. Ne5 $2 Nh5 15. g4 $2 {[%xcpdao l]} 15... Bxe5 $2 ({A better move for Carl Schlechter was} 15... Nf6) 16. gxh5 $1 Bg7 17. hxg6 hxg6 18. Qc4 $1 Bc8 19. Rg1 $5 Qa5+ 20. Bd2 Qd5 21. Rc1 Bb7 {[%xcpdao l]} 22. Qc2 $5 ({Emanuel Lasker could have played a simpler move} 22. Qxd5 {However, Lasker chose to be involved in a more difficult situation.}) 22... Qh5 {[%xcpdao l]} 23. Bxg6 $2 ({A better move for Emanuel Lasker was} 23. Rb1) 23... Qxh2 $1 24. Rf1 fxg6 25. Qb3+ Rf7 26. Qxb7 Raf8 $1 27. Qb3 Kh8 28. f4 g5 $5 29. Qd3 gxf4 30. exf4 Qh4+ 31. Ke2 Qh2+ 32. Rf2 Qh5+ 33. Rf3 Nc7 $1 {[%xcpdao l]} 34. Rxc6 $6 ({A better move than the one that Lasker made was} 34. Nc5) 34... Nb5 $1 35. Rc4 $1 {[%xcpdao l]} 35... Rxf4 $2 ({A powerful move was} 35... Rd8 $1) 36. Bxf4 Rxf4 37. Rc8+ Bf8 38. Kf2 $1 Qh2+ 39. Ke1 {[%xcpdao l]} 39... Qh1+ $2 ({If Schlechter played} 39... Qh4+ $1 {the game could have ended in a draw.}) 40. Rf1 Qh4+ 41. Kd2 Rxf1 42. Qxf1 Qxd4+ 43. Qd3 Qf2+ 44. Kd1 Nd6 45. Rc5 Bh6 46. Rd5 Kg8 47. Nc5 Qg1+ 48. Kc2 Qf2+ 49. Kb3 Bg7 50. Ne6 $1 {[%xcpdao l]} 50... Qb2+ $2 ({Schlechter could only play} 50... Qb6+ $1) 51. Ka4 {[%xcpdao l]} 51... Kf7 $2 ({A better move was} 51... Qg2) 52. Nxg7 Qxg7 53. Qb3 Ke8 54. Qb8+ Kf7 55. Qxa7 Qg4+ 56. Qd4 Qd7+ 57. Kb3 Qb7+ 58. Ka2 Qc6 59. Qd3 Ke6 60. Rg5 Kd7 61. Re5 Qg2+ 62. Re2 Qg4 63. Rd2 {[%xcpdao l]} 63... Qa4 $6 ({The only good move is} 63... Qh5) 64. Qf5+ Kc7 65. Qc2+ Qxc2+ 66. Rxc2+ Kb7 67. Re2 Nc8 68. Kb3 Kc6 69. Rc2+ Kb7 70. Kb4 Na7 71. Kc5 {A true chess marathon ended. Schlechter surrendered because the white Rook is more valuable than the black Knight.} 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Queen’s pawn game, Semi Slav Defense

[Event "Linares"] [Site "Linares ESP"] [Date "1993.03.02"] [Round "6"] [White "Anatoly Karpov"] [Black "Boris Gelfand"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E10"] [Opening "Queen's pawn game"] [PlyCount "89"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. Qa4+ c6 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qd3 Bb7 8. e4 b4 9. Na4 Nbd7 10. Bg5 Qa5 11. b3 c5 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Be2 O-O-O 14. O-O Kb8 15. d5 Nb6 16. Nxb6 Qxb6 17. Rad1 Bh6 18. Qc4 Rd6 19. dxe6 Rxe6 {[%xcpdao l]} 20. Rd5 $5 ({Anatoly Karpov could also play} 20. Bd3) 20... Rhe8 21. Bd3 Rd8 22. Rd1 Red6 23. Be2 Bxd5 24. exd5 Qb7 25. Qh4 {[%xcpdao l]} 25... Bf8 $6 ({Boris Gelfand could make a better move} 25... Bg5) 26. Bc4 Rxd5 $2 {The Israeli Boris Gelfand is trying to make some sacrifices but he doesn’t solve defensive problems.} 27. Bxd5 Rxd5 28. Re1 $1 {Karpov has a slight advantage because Gelfand’s pawn structure has been badly damaged. The World Champion, Anatoly Karpov showed his amazing technique.} 28... Rd8 29. Qxf6 Qc7 30. g3 Bd6 31. Ng5 Rd7 32. Re8+ {Karpov was trying to exploit Gelfand’s weakness in the eighth rank.} 32... Kb7 33. Ne4 Qc6 34. Qf5 Be7 35. Kg2 Rc7 36. Rh8 Qg6 37. Qd5+ Qc6 38. Qxc6+ Kxc6 39. Rxh7 Kd5 40. Nd2 Bf6 41. Nc4 Kd4 42. Rh6 Rc6 43. g4 Re6 44. h4 Kd5 45. g5 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Recommended Books and Courses

Slav Defense and Semi-Slav Defense are openings that Grandmasters often use. Therefore, I think you should practice them as well. It’s a good idea to buy a book because the variations related to them are many. The following books are well-written and you can find them available at an affordable price. A good book for both Slav Defense and Semi-Slav Defense is Starting Out: Slav & Semi-Slav.

Recommendations only for Semi-Slav Defense

Recommendations only for Slav Defense

Final Thoughts

Please make sure to check my other articles about strategies and openings like fianchetto, the English Opening, and the French Defense. I hope you liked this article and would like to make a comment about it. Please share this article if the information in this article was valuable. Enjoy chess.