The Slav arises after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 (ECO D10). Black supports the central pawn on d5 with ...c6 rather than ...e6, reinforcing the centre without shutting in the light-squared bishop.
It is one of the soundest systems against the Queen's Gambit: Black has a solid structure and the bishop on c8 keeps its freedom (often going to f5 or g4). The price is occasionally some trouble developing the queenside.
The Slav was worked out in depth by Alekhine, Euwe and Botvinnik, and it is still played at the very top. An excellent choice for anyone who values reliability with Black against 1.d4.
Set it up on the board, move the pieces around and copy the FEN - or open the full walkthrough of the opening in a separate article.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
Build your own position in the board editor, read up on the rules of chess or run a tournament on your own positions in the free app.
No arbiter skills required. The app takes over the part that usually stops people from running tournaments at all: who plays whom in each round and who finishes first.
works for ten players and for fifty
for a small group that wants to play everyone
for those who do not need a bracket at all
Sign up to the Vibe Chess bot on Telegram - it carries the schedule of meetups and chess events across the cities we run in.
