Hi there.
I'm going to introduce you to the slope of the fence, the Slav defense is super popular nowadays at
the super grandmaster level Grandmont level and a lot of other levels.
So, DeFore, you play D5 and after CIFOR, you actually play C6.
In a way, sometimes this acts as a kind of uprights.
The more classical Queen's Gambit declines because here you're volunteering the immediate closure of
the bishop.
Sometimes in the Slav defense, this bishop actually gets to come out, but quite often it is actually
still kept home.
Later, with black playing, C6 quite often sets up simply a solid looking triangle of --'s, which
is the semi-solid.
So if the bishop purely does come out, that's more of a pure Slav wethers bishop does come out.
So that's the kind of distinction, as far as I understand in general.
So here, when we try and play the main Slav wasdin in the main Slav defense hasn't yet been decided.
If this is laugh at the bishops, Closed-End White Hair has major options like the free.
She takes the five.
Night frame, but believe it or not, this might move Seefried, not as main line as Afri.
And I believe one of the key reasons for this, and I'm actually kind of testing this myself, there
is an exciting candidate here which I once played in the Middlesex League, and I didn't really understand
the total finesses of 93 against time for all this looks a little bit like an our bean scam.
It doesn't that e5 so it's an interesting count gambit and I had a delightful win with this.
And it turns out actually the preference is for players before it's clamped down on that pesky five.
So by playing might have a bit of a fun kind of move.
So that's what I'd recommend for you.
If you're playing with the white pieces by Afri, make sure E5 is not possible even as a gambit.
So, yeah, I mean, Black has played all the things here, not just this exciting gambit, which I
would recommend to you greatly.
But you know, Black has played might have sex esx dhc for which the Argentinian defense I wouldn't
recommend a five here because with Mitzy free there is a park and it's kind of setting a trap actually
because there's pressure.
There is one upside of ninety four.
The immediate pressure on the five Y can actually play here.
The move can be free, which is kind of punishing Black's weakness.
The last move and also putting pressure on D5.
So this is, you know, rather awkward and I'll definitely avoid this at five.
It's not very, very good statistically.
Yeah.
It's you know, the blacks already in kind of trouble.
Does the bishop go back?
You know, we're going to lose D5 the bishop goes back.
Well, what actually happens here?
You know, as an example, you know, Queen C7, you know, we can take on the five and, you know,
the G5 pull out.
So, yeah, you don't want to get in trouble with Bishop.
I find that's something to bear in mind.
It does have a little upside, but the downside is it doesn't control five.
So that's why it seems, you know, Tafuri is is much more the main line, the most trodden.
And here black often plays don't have sex, has various move for options here like quinsy to move for
queen bee free.
There's the slow love of every white volunteers to keep the bishop at home.
But actually, it turns out, believe it or not, that noisy freight is one of the more common moves
to spring the other light and see what black does.
Now here, with pressure on the five and no counts available, you might consider you might really have
an urge to bring this l I'm funny enough, you know, and sort of play it like a reverse London system.
The thing is, in this position, black usually just sets up triangle and is content, believe it or
not, to have the bishop stuck at home.
And you might think, oh, well, what's all this about improving on the Queen's Gambit?
Declined King's Cross.
We're keeping the bishop at home.
Yeah.
It is a solid position, though.
It is the most played move.
He says you can sometimes sort out the bishop in other ways later.
It's not a bishop which is necessarily completely down for the rest of the game.
It's up to you what you do after.
It's such a nice plan to try and improve your workspace, which is a default plan.
You can bear in mind in those positions, you have no clue what to do.
Just maybe sometimes look at your workspace as a good policy and it gives you something to do later
in the middle.
Going to sort out this, you know, maybe be six or eight weeks later, etc. other things to do with
this bishop.
So that is actually a really, really popular move.
But if you're really if your heart is into getting the out to play like reverse kind of long the system
there is something called the Chaban and Koslov, which I actually did a few promo videos of my other
work in chess.
And this Chaban and Koslov means that actually you are prepared for queen bee free, sometimes even
with the outrageous Roquet seven.
So sometimes you do get to play.
I kind of reverse London system.
You know, for example, I would say, you know, every five you might think this, but now, you know,
you have got an option of seven.
And, you know, you can get a kind of reverse London system.
And it's not entirely terrible.
And there are the.
Options as well, so.
So if you're if your heart's really intent, you know, on of reverse reverse, this isn't getting the
best out you really worried about.
You don't want to just do the triangle.
You know, Essex's is an interesting Slav, Chavan and Koslov.
It's more of a pure Slav, not Smyslov, but also here you can actually play detailed CIFOR and you
need to know this Slavkin, a garment that can be quite dangerous, named after Afine Geller.
He was one of phishers, more dangerous opponents.
There's also a free there's also the unhappen version with a fall.
And here that brings a wealth of variations.
This is supposed to be the main line.
You do bring the best out on this occasion.
And because there's no Quamby for anything, this is absolutely fine to bring the best out on this occasion.
So that's the main line.
Sheck variation.
And here, you know, why can continue with Goitein for the blood attack.
Excuse the abbreviations.
I wanted to keep the indentation for you guys.
I did spend some time on that slide, actually, with the indentation blood attack or the Dutch variation,
V.R. variation.
Look at the key underneath.
Also here you have the craws attack.
Sounds good.
Does that cause attack?
But if so, these are things which have been played before that instead of five and five, you can play
ESX that is locking in the bishop again, the bishop G for at least brings pressure, you might think
in principle.
That's that's nice.
A6 is the Smith operation.
So yeah, there are all sorts of variations that are so after 493.
On night Afri.
You don't necessarily have to play free, not have sex, there is sex, which is a Smyslov transition.
There's also a you know, you don't want to play every generally this is I mean, this is awkward.
Half of the night have preying upon me if you play.
Five, her S. takes C takes is a little bit awkward here, Queen B, Frank can be a bit awkward attacking
B seven.
So yeah, sometimes you don't want to be too keen to bring out your bare hands.
The whole of business, you know, setting up the triangle is your top priority, essentially because
of this B seven issue being a real annoyance, you know, so as black, you can't just sometimes play
the systems as white.
That extra temper really makes a difference is like in tennis, the first serve is quite powerful.
In tennis, you've got to be very careful about whites initiative and potential to create overwhelming
France with that extra mover advantage.
When they're playing whites.
He can't, you might think well on systemis.
I'm a fan lunchers one system.
I've got calls to check out Lawrences them.
You might want to do it in reverse, but it's not that easy.
The only route that I know of is this Chaban and Kosloff, this very interesting ASX move.
So as we mentioned in this introduction video.
So yeah, there's a whole wealth of ideas with the Slav defense.
And as you start to know the finesses, then you know, when you can bring out the best, when you need
to keep it as a triangle and the middle game plans, you often see a bishop when you're playing black
against the fall.
If you're playing it, either the Queen's Gambit, the client or the Slav, the bishop is one of those
issues which definitely gives you a default plan.
At least there's an upside you're trying to sort out quite often your bad pieces.
And when we talk about bad pieces, sorting out bad piece, quite often the line pieces in particular,
you know, can sometimes struggle within a certain pull structure, in particular the bishops.
When you have a bad bishop, definitely that's like a default plan to try and somehow get the bishop
out and about.
Or sometimes it adds solidity, though, to the position.
So there are tradeoffs and has to be always aware of.
OK, so the Slav defense remains hugely popular today.
So if you want a very, very solid line.
Yeah, it's it's trendy.
For me personally, as a Kings Cross, it's not totally my taste, I prefer more dynamic things, especially
in online test myself, but that's just my personal
leaning.
Definitely.
If you look at, you know, modern example games and you and you're quite content to have just a secure,
solid position with the black pieces, which is very, very sensible generally, you don't always have
to go all out for a win.
Then, you know, this is going to be a tried and tested and has huge credibility in modern grandmaster
chess.
Some of the openings since the 1960s, 70s have faded in popularity and gone significantly down.
Like the modern baloney defense, the king's endurance is not as popular a superior level as the new
Slav trends.
You know, the Slav trends or the groom for the fans, those to have risen in popularity in recent years.
So Engin scrutiny making openings more solid, you know, less less able to break so easily so the Slav
could be in.
That took a very, very solid opening's you might want to use against one.
Difford So it starts you know D5 and you just play says yeah ok that's a much.