3. Classical Slav: move order with 8...Nbd7
Black postpones castling and plays ...Nbd7 and ...Bg6 first: after 10.e4 O-O 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5 the position is identical to line 1. It serves to recognize the transposition.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O Nbd7 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.e4 O-O 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5
Move by move
- 1.d4 – White opens with the Queen's pawn: it occupies d4, controls e5 and c5 and prepares c4 to put pressure on the Black center.
- 1...d5 – Black answers symmetrically: the d5 pawn prevents e4 and claims its share of the center.
- 2.c4 – The Queen's Gambit: the c4 pawn attacks d5 and threatens cxd5, to take away Black's control of e4.
- 2...c6 – The Slav Defense: c6 supports d5 without blocking the diagonal of the c8 Bishop, which can come out to f5 or g4 before ...e6.
- 3.Nf3 – The Knight comes out toward the center, controls e5 and protects d4; White keeps the choice open between Nc3, e3 and the Exchange Variation.
- 3...Nf6 – The Black Knight controls e4 and defends d5 a second time: White cannot push e4 without preparation.
- 4.Nc3 – The Knight increases the pressure on d5 and prepares e4; now ...dxc4 becomes a real threat, because c4 is not defended.
- 4...dxc4 – Black takes the c4 pawn, which White has not yet protected with e3: it now threatens to keep it with ...b5.
- 5.a4 – White prevents ...b5, which would defend the extra pawn, at the cost of weakening the b4 square.
- 5...Bf5 – The Bishop comes out to f5 before ...e6, controls e4 and stays outside the pawn chain: this is the Slav's advantage over the Queen's Gambit Declined.
- 6.e3 – White opens the diagonal of the f1 Bishop to recapture on c4; with the Bishop on f5 the push e4 is no longer immediate.
- 6...e6 – Black opens the diagonal of the f8 Bishop and protects d5 and f5: the c8 Bishop is already out, so the c6-e6 chain does not shut it in.
- 7.Bxc4 – White recaptures the gambit pawn; the Bishop on c4 aims at e6 and material is level again.
- 7...Bb4 – The Bishop pins the c3 Knight, which controls e4: so White struggles to push e4, and Black can castle.
- 8.O-O – White castles and prepares Qe2 followed by e4, the push it wants in order to gain space in the center.
- 8...Nbd7 – The Knight comes out to d7 before castling: it controls e5 and keeps the timing of ...O-O open.
- 9.Qe2 – The Queen supports e4, the push that drives away the f5 Bishop, and frees the d1 square for the Rook.
- 9...Bg6 – Black removes the Bishop from the f5 square in advance, where it would be attacked after e4: on g6 it stays on the diagonal and presses on e4.
- 10.e4 – White pushes e4 and takes the center: it threatens e5 to drive away the f6 Knight.
- 10...O-O – Black castles only now: we reach the same position as the main line with Bd3 and e5 coming.
- 11.Bd3 – The Bishop defends e4 and faces the g6 Bishop: White wants to support the center and prepares e5.
- 11...Bh5 – The Bishop avoids the exchange on g6 and pins the f3 Knight to the e2 Queen: the Knight cannot defend d4 without losing the Queen.
- 12.e5 – White drives away the f6 Knight and gains space; in return the d5 square becomes an excellent outpost for Black.
- 12...Nd5 – The Knight settles on d5: it blocks the d4 pawn, attacks c3 and cannot be driven away by a pawn.
How to exploit the position
We reach the same position as the main line: the d5 Knight blocks the center, the h5 Bishop pins the f3 Knight.
- After Nxd5 recapture with ...cxd5 and bring a Rook to c8: the open c-file and the c4 square are your strengths.
- Use the pin on f3: ...Qb6 attacks d4, which the f3 Knight cannot really defend as long as it is pinned to the Queen.
- Exchange the d3 Bishop with ...Bg6 to reduce White's attacking potential against your King.
- Prepare ...f6 or ...c5 to attack the e5-d4 pawn chain.
Master tips
Recognizing transpositions
In the Classical Slav the order of ...O-O, ...Nbd7 and ...Bg6 can be swapped: what matters is the final position, not the sequence.