A Sly Approach to the Slav

Underneath the sheath of armor the Slav Defense provides Black against 1.d4 lies the opportunity to unleash forceful attacks.

Without ever straying away from the Slav’s sturdy setup, Grandmaster Erwin L’Ami has developed a comprehensive and attacking repertoire for Black with Lifetime Repertoires: Slav.

It’s the fullest and most comprehensive course ever released on the Slav Defense.

The base of your attacks is the Classical Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4), known for its durability. Your solid position will be a trojan horse for White, as they’ll think you’re after a calm game when really it’s a fight you’re after.

At the center of it all, you’ll play subtle moves that seemingly give White everything they want but drag them into a tactical skirmish they’re favored to lose.

Here are some ways you can outwit your opponent:

💥Sacrifice a piece in the Krause Attack (6.Ne5) – play …e6 and make White think they can achieve their central goals, only to sacrifice your bishop (or knight!) and play forcing moves that bring them right out in the open

💥Allow White to take your bishop on f5 in the Dutch Variation (6.e3) – splitting your pawns will prove to be no problem as you’ll have a great outpost for your knight on e4 along with the half-open file giving you nice attacking chances

💥Engineer a scenario of good knight/bad bishop for yourself in the Slow Slav – and make White regret going for a quiet game

💥Learn to be patient in the Exchange Slav– and give up the bishop pair voluntarily to get superior light-square play or win a tempo on Black’s early dark-square bishop excursions

💥Be covered against all viable tries by White – get remedies for the Geller Gambit, the Bled Attack, and the Catalan-esque 5.g3 Slav

💥Get a full repertoire against 1.d4 – and stay ahead of opponents against the London System, the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, the Torre Attack, and the Psuedo-Trompowsky

Another edition of opening expertise

Author Grandmaster Erwin L’Ami has put together another fine example of top opening preparation, as he’s done on so many occasions prior.

His courses all have rave reviews, and he’s a definite fan-favorite in the Chessable community, as evidenced by his Lifetime Repertoires: Caro-Kann.

L’Ami is one of the world’s leading theoreticians, a veteran Olympiad player, and a trusted coach of world champion contenders due to his scientific examination of openings.

But he’s by no means taken a backseat to competing; he’s still actively playing at the top level with standard, blitz, and rapid ratings all over 2600!

You can find all this work and dedication on display in Lifetime Repertoires: Slav.