Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...c6/3. Nc3

Slav Defence
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/3p4/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR b
Moves: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3

Slav Defence

3.Nc3

This move develops a piece and bears more pressure on d5. Due to this, it also makes 3...Bf5 a grave mistake due to 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3, winning a pawn. If then 5...Qb6, 6. Nxd5! Qxb3 7. axb3! wins the d pawn. If instead 5...Nf6 to protect the d pawn, 6. Qxb7 Nbd7 7. Nf3 Rb8 8. Qxa7 wins two. In general, if black can safely play Bf5 and e6 in the Slav, he equalizes. Also, it prepares an e4 advance in the center. However, the knight is vulnerable here to a b7-b5-b4 advance, so ...dxc4 and ...b5 are often played.

Theory table

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

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3.Nc3

	3	4
Slav Defense	... Nf6	Nf3
	... dxc4	e3 b5
Semi-Slav (by transposition)	... e6	Nf3	(to 2...e6 3.Nc3 c6)
Winawer Countergambit	... e5	dxe5 d4
	... e5	cxd5 cxd5

References

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.