Publisher: Chess Evolution, 2012, Pages: 250, Paperback
The Slav Defence is currently the most popular closed opening, appearing in the opening repertoire of the overwhelming majority of top class grandmasters. A competitive chess player playing 1.d4 faces the opening in almost every tournament, and for Black it can be used in just about every second game. Over a number of years I have played various diff erent lines of the opening with both colours and analysed it both individually and in cooperation with many wellknown grandmasters. Now I have decided to give the opportunity to anyone who feels like it to enter a grandmaster’s laboratory and see my professional approach to various opening lines. Measures have been taken lest the work should swell to enormous size. Textual annotations to variations and evaluations are not given throughout the book but only in cases where I thought it to be important and not too obvious. As for the rest, a conventional abridged evaluation system has been used. All noteworthy lines have been analysed in detail. Also many novelties have been introduced with enclosed analyses. At the same time many weak and inessential moves, although in some cases with a considerable praxis, have been evaluated briefly.
I will be glad if my work turns out to be a good aid in learning the Slav Defence — an exceptionally interesting opening, rich in both strategic and tactical ideas.
This book is rated for skilled chess players.
The theoretical material is given as of July 2012.
Index:
Part 1 — Exchange variation 9
Part 2 — Winawer counter-gambit 27
Part 3 — Alekhine variation, side line 33
Part 4 — Structures looking like “Stone Wall” 45
Part 5 — Noteboom variation, side lines 55
Part 6 — Marshall gambit 69
Part 7 — 3.Nс3 Nf6 4.e3 Variations, that are not entering the Meran 107
Part 8 — 3.Nf3 Variations, without early night development Nf6 123
Part 9 — 3.Nf3 Nf6 What happens if White declines to follow the “main” road 141
Part 10 — Schlechter variation 159
Part 11 — Rare lines, without early development of the knight to Nc3 171
Part 12 — Variation 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 189
Part 13 — Variation 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 215
Part 14 — 4.Nc3 rare variations 235
Part 15 — Chebanenko variation 241
