Slav Defence
D10 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6
Support the centre with the c-pawn and keep the bishop free.
Analysing from a photo?
This page needs a FEN or a board you set up by hand. The app reads a position straight from a photograph of a real board or a screenshot, and keeps your saved positions between sessions.
The idea
Black supports d5 with c6 rather than e6, which is the same idea that separates the Caro-Kann from the French. The light-squared bishop can develop to f5 or g4 before e6 shuts it in, and the structure is as solid as anything in chess. It is the reason the Queen's Gambit has never produced a lasting advantage.
Typical plans
- As Black, develop the bishop to f5 before e6, which is the entire justification for the move order.
- As Black, take on c4 and hold the pawn with b5 in the Semi-Slav, accepting sharp complications.
- As White, play the Exchange Slav for a symmetrical position, or e3 and Bd3 for a game with more tension.
What goes wrong
- As Black, playing e6 first and locking in the bishop, which loses the point of the Slav.
- As White, expecting to punish the solidity. There is no refutation available.
- The Semi-Slav is a separate and far sharper opening. Do not enter it by accident.
Using the board above
The board starts at the position after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6. Play the continuation you normally meet, then ask the engine what it would do. That is more useful than reading a line, because it answers the question you actually have, which is what happens in the position you keep reaching.
One caution worth carrying into it: an engine evaluates an opening on the assumption that both sides then play perfectly. A line rated a tenth of a pawn better whose middlegames you have never played is worth less to you than a line rated slightly worse that produces positions you understand. More on that here.