Play the Semi-Slav
by IM David Vigorito
Quality Chess, 2008
ISBN: 9185779016 softcover, 277 pages
Figurine Algebraic Notation
The Slav defense has always been a popular opening for Black, dating back to the Alekhine-Bogoljubow and Alekhine-Euwe matches. However, over the last several years the Semi-Slav has replaced it as the opening of choice amongst the world’s top players.
I myself have been playing various variations of the Slav for the past 19 years. Originally, like a lot of beginners, I started with the mainline Slav. However, for some reason the exchange variation would sometimes give me trouble. After trying the a6 Slav for a brief period, I ended up playing the Semi-Slav a few years ago and have been very pleased with it.
The interesting thing is you would think that with Black playing pawns to both c6 and e6 and blocking in his light squared bishop, there wouldn’t be that much theory to know. I mean, isn’t Black sort of playing a Colle in reverse? The answer is no—the Semi-Slav is nothing like the Colle.
While the Colle is a pretty easy opening to play (I play it), the number of variations in the Semi-Slav is quite large and the lines often run past 20 moves. Additionally, while the Colle is usually a setup to play for a kingside attack, in the Semi-Slav, Black’s play is usually on the queenside (c5 break) or center (e5 break).
Vigorito’s 277 page book is broken into 5 sections:
Part I – The Moscow Variation
Part II – The Botvinnik Variation
Part III – The Meran Variation
Part IV – The 6.Qc2 Variation
Part V – White Avoids the Main Lines
The Semi-Slav appears on the board after the following moves:
We can learn a little here by watching two of the best in the business pick up the position from here (game 9 in the book):
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