Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...c6/3. Nc3/3...dxc4/4. e3/4...b5
| Slav Defence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moves: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. e3 b5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4...b5
editThis guards c4 and is the best move. The queenside weaknesses are not a problem, as the knight on c3 is vulnerable to b-pawn attacks with ...b4. Note that Nxb5?, trying to exploit the long diagonal to destroy Black's queenside, is a mistake, and gives black two roads to an advantage. Often, Black will play b4, to boot white's knight away, and not try to hold c4.
When your opponent has a space advantage, you want to use pawn breaks. Since b3 Qa5 is annoying for white, as the knight is being threatened as well as b3 pawn (if cxb3 axb3, Qxa1 wins the rook), the only other break is 5.a4 which undermines Black's defence of the c4-pawn. Therefore, the best move is 5.a4.
Theory table
edit| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nxb5?
cxb5 |
Qf3
Qc7! |
Qxa8
Bb7 |
Qxa7
e5 |
-/+ |
| ...
... |
...
Nc6 |
Qxc6+
Bd7 |
Qf3
e5! |
=/+ |
| a4
b4 |
Ne4
Qd5 |
Nd2
c3 |
bxc3
bxc3 |
+/= |