Learning the Slav Defence - Your principled response against 1.d4

[@satanickmukhuty2579]

I struggle against 1.d4 and am keen to learn the Slav. Please continue this series.

[@siddharthjain2799]

Alex banzea has so many subscribers just because he plays his repertoire and constantly share games about his repertoire..u r such a great teacher..it will be great if you can add slav games on daily basis .

[@robwatson1617]

Perfect timing, Andras!. I've been playing the Slav for years and was thinking about giving up on it after some poor results, but now you've inspired me to maybe stick with it. I'm looking forward to the rest of your Slav series.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

send me the games that went sideways!

[@noahz]

"How to know when it's ok to trade your queen for pieces" would be an interesting video.

[@fr00ty]

That clearance sacrifice of Bb4 is ridiculously beautiful and difficult to spot. Moving a piece to the complete opposite side of the board from the attack and sacking 2 pieces looks utterly ludicrous because of all the other "hanging" pieces on the board. This is why Andras is my favorite youtube chess teacher. Complete disregard for material because the attack is so strong. Also, that pawn on c6 is very positionally instructive. Denying the opponents entry point while at the same time opening the file for your rook. There's a tendency to put too much emphasis on preserving pawn structure for fear of creating targets or entering a slightly worse end game. But superior calculation and letting your opponent shoot themselves in the foot will always win out in the end.

[@tigerspaw]

I’ve been studying the Slav for months. This video is very helpful. Thanks for sharing it. I will definitely take a look at your Chessable course.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Thanks , I think you will enjoy the course !

[@authentichealth1065]

Thanks Coach. I've been struggling a bit in the slav since I learned it - you've just simplified the plans for me massively. I'm looking forward to facing it again :)

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Glad it helped!

[@vvyllnn]

This came just in time! Was looking for so long to find a solid Slav tutorial, looking forward to watching this one

[@saxonsaxoneast6674]

Love that. Love his passion as well. What a great video.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Glad you enjoyed it and welcome onboard!

[@JohnCalvin-w5r]

I like his approach he is very fast but good

[@BundyChess]

Very Instructive, loved both attacks! Converted!

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@kaalad3666]

Yay I've been wanting to learn the slav!

[@danieljones2746]

Thanks Andras, I’ve really been enjoying the Chessable course

[@kellenblackman483]

I’ve been loving your course. It helped me tremendously against the London as well.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Great to hear!

[@Arthas30000]

Omg! Was just studying the Slav. Best timed release Coach Andras! Ty 🙏

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Perfect!

[@jakeb.2990]

the Slav is based on the principles of playing the London with black - very solid structure without caging the queenside bishop and if the opponent tries to play too aggressive in the opening he or she will just be worse, with the difference that playing for an roughly equal and solid structure as black is very different than doing it as white this will probably trigger Master Toth ;D

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Haha , touché! But you are wrong. The London is a reverse Slav and not the other way round! 😉👍

[@RedGaming23]

Great stuff as always. Will definitely give the Slav a go with this plan. Despite being a Nimzo/bogó man I find myself in Slav structures occasionally with black so always good experience to have

[@chriscarpenter5688]

Thanks very much for this. I found it really helpful. I lnow these things are subjective but I find you a really good teacher. Knowledgeable, engagaing and no faff!!!

[@markjuhasz2803]

I have alredy learnt your Slav course. Brilliant!

[@yvesvandekelder2811]

I long time struggled what opening to choose against 1.d4. As a matter of fact, I just started to learn your Chessable Slav! But these complete games are very motivating and convincing to continue the process.. Thanks and looking forward to more slav..

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Glad to hear it! Good luck with the course and yes, more is coming!

[@michaelf8221]

I'd be interested in picking up the slav myself, but the exchange slav is so painful to generate play against... Looking forward to seeing some exchange slav smackdowns in this series!

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Look , my view is that if our biggest worry is that our opponent doesn’t even want to have an edge, then We are doing great!

[@nikamumladze8220]

@@ChessCoachAndras but exchange slav can be such a boring opening... i think exchange slav as black is probably even more boring than london as white...🥱

[@alanimranali]

Was looking for something like this

[@OctavianIV]

Great games! Testament to a great opening in the hands of a great player.

[@physics2112]

Like or Dislike: Neutral. Your audio is about half the volume of the KZbin ads. Please boost the volume for those of us not listening with headphones.

[@robinesperoza]

Add-blocker is the answer to your woes my friend.

[@robinesperoza]

I will start playing the Slav. Seems pretty out-of-the-boxable as far as openings go.

[@MartinTremblay-iz4ts]

Thank you for your excellent work!

[@jackson32]

Long time slav defense player. If white does not play the critical lines, and there are only a few, black gets pretty easy equality. In that case usually you should be ready for a slow strategic game. There are definitely sharp lines though. After c4 and Nc3, best IMO is to play e6 and transpose to the semi-slav. With e3 you avoid some of the super tactical crazy positions. Not well know is that if you know your stuff in the Meran variation, black gets easy equality or better. The mainline slav forces black to play a game where he needs to play accurately, and neither him or white can win as easily, but the onus is on black to play accurately. Fortunately, if black really knows his stuff in the mainlines it if very hard for white to get an advantage and black can then play for a win.

[@songbrothers4342]

Thank you andras!!

[@GreenHope42]

During the series can you please explain why Slav & main differences between Slav compared to Semi Slav or regular Queen's Gambit Declined.

[@Grandcapi]

Good appetizer. I studied the Slav for a while but did not like the e4 line. I decided to continue with my beloved Dutch (Basman variation, quite rare!).

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Sounds great!

[@affebanane3039]

I play slav and karo kann. That works super good for a new player like me. I actually survive the opening. Now i just lose in the midgame

[@basilisperis4651]

Thank you coach!! , please saw us how to apply the slav setup and plans against the bird openning .

[@robinesperoza]

You can't. The Slav works against 1.d4, not 1.f4. You can play ..1.c6 against 1.f4 but that's a different opening. But, why fear the Bird? Follow normal opening principes and you're fine.

[@basilisperis4651]

@@robinesperoza im loosing to hippopotamous bro , all are dificult ,

[@haydenn680]

I have a course idea for you Andras and it isnt an opening course. I would like you to create an Open Sicilian attacking manual. No theory, but going over 30-50 games whatever. Looking at the opposite castling positions on whose attack arrives first, maybe some maroczy bind games that go on to sharp positions. I like my opening courses but for example I chose to wait for Erwin’s Slav course instead of Nils’ or yours(mainly because yours is for beginners). And I want to hear your analysis of such positions! I think you do these type of video’s better than almost anyone else! Only one who compares is David Pruess from ChessDojo

[@TrueBlueAndrew]

Thank you for the video

[@alfredo4053]

Great video ad usual. Not long ago i switched from the Benoni to the Semi-Slav and then to this line of the Slav with Bf5. Would you say that the Semi is better for aggressive players? My main inspiration when i tried it out was Aronian-Anand, and maybe I'll try it again at somepoint

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Yes, the semi Slav is wild, but is also very demanding in terms of learning .

[@mustafaadil6080]

Good series❤❤ to start

[@benjamiheras9294]

Love your course, Andras; been having a lot of success with the slav since i picked it up. Btw, what do you think about the QGA as a close relative to the slav when you want to avoid the exchange variation? I've seen some lines where black castles a bit late, but, that aside, it seems fighting, principled and active.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Yes , I like QGA, good choice !

[@dkpandey1996]

Great stuff. I've been playing the Slav lately and find it easier to handle as compared to the Nimzo, and more active & dynamic than the QGD.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Great to hear!

[@salonijain6237]

Hi Andra’s big fan. I am going to buy your Slav course. Can you plz be v regular in uploading Slav games. ( already 9 days lapsed since this videos) Or if u can play some rating climb with Slav. Otherwise it becomes difficult to apply the repertoire for us Thanks and regards

[@Slurmzy]

Nice video. Even though I dont need a new opening vs d4, its always cool to see a bit of another principled opening because it feels like it reinforces good positional play. The setup reminds me of a caro or scandi without any major concessions. At 4:00 would be cool to see how you would improve the position if given 5 free moves, like where would you put the rooks, is h6 useful or a hook, etc. The queen develop and c or e pawn break is intuitive.

[@surf2553]

Thoughts in this vs the semi-slav? I am moving away from Pirc after watching a lot of your content on Activity

[@siddharthjain2799]

Great content andraz. But we really need atleast around 2/3 series of rating climb with your slav repertoire That will even boost your subscribers like anything if that motivates you

[@seanburk2424]

Another brilliant video, as always. Why the green screen format? I feel like it impersonalizes the presentation. While there is nothing unique or original about having a standard chess area “homescape” behind you, it allows us the viewer to connect just a little deeper seeing your daily surroundings. In the science of KZbin viewership (and I could be wrong, but I know this is true for me, maybe it doesn’t extrapolate to a larger audience), we know thumbnails are of vital importance for clicks, it feels to me like that familiar chess area backdrop helps make people (me) want to comeback and visit more often. It’s comfortable and comforting. Where as the black green screen backdrop is more jarring.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Because I am sitting in front of an ugly White wall with no decoration, no bookshelves, nothing. Also hardly any room between me and the wall, so no room for decor or bookshelves. Trust me, I did want to do something more uplifting, but for the time being it is the best I have

[@WellDiaz]

New subscriber here!💗💗

[@frankgermaine76]

very nice - I kind of lost track of your course after there was no response to the c3 issue you wanted to update the course with - Stichwort: Neo London - Huschenbeth...

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Can you please resend that question to me either in chessable or via email?

[@frankgermaine76]

@@ChessCoachAndras which email address should I use?

[@ChessCoachAndras]

@@frankgermaine76 [e-mail]

[@TikariChess]

You're going to convert me to a Slav player yet!

[@JanKopczynski-b2d]

Looks Iike a great opening, Coach Andras. But every time my White opponent simply takes on 3. cxd5. Doesn’t that just tank the entire opening after that?

[@TrueBlueAndrew]

Can you still play the Slav even if they don’t play the Queens Gambit? Or is the Slav only a Response to the Queens Gambit?

[@lukastux3024]

Why do you prefer the proper Slav over the Chebanenko? Isn't that one the 'purest' form of the Slav, intending to get the bishop out without giving up .. the CENTAH? Against many lines, Black can achieve kind of a reversed London system.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Che babe jo is great too but requires knowledge of QGA and semi Slav as well, overall a bit too much.

[@ChessMinds248]

Well ngl, learning all those lines and stuff is not a child's play. Great Vid btw! ❤

[@Mike-cp1tj]

I bought your Slav course, but I do feel that against London you recommended the line with Bg4 and exchange on f3 and go for endgame was a bit soft - given how much bashing you have given this opening. Playing that line I never felt it was consistent with the speeches you've given

[@alias9731]

He never said, that black has an easy refutation against it. He said its bad for your chess development, because you're playing the same structure over and over again.

[@nomankhan-kz4mg]

When I watch opening videos everything seems good to me. But in real game I can't build up this position.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Yes, that , of course is the tough part! Years of learning and practice!

[@lifestation1]

So i guess that 3. ...Nf6 is better than 3. ...e6 wishing for a marshall game or a noteboom?

[@ChessCoachAndras]

I would not say it is better, itis just altogether different!

[@lindell7318]

i love the queensgambit as white. I find it sad that u talk so rarely about it from whites perspectife. but this video will be helpfull ig

[@Musicrafter12]

After I quit the King's Indian (getting wrecked by 9. b4 despite knowing it's dangerous and having looked at the line pretty extensively before the game is enough to screw with anyone!) and have found the Grunfeld to be frustrating. I even have tried the Nimzo/Ragozin complex at one point but switched back to the Grunfeld. Lately I have considered picking up the Slav/Semi-Slav. The issue is several-fold: 1. I want to win all my games as black and am not willing to let boring white players get me into dry positions. 2. I want to play something objectively sound -- nothing with a known refutation. The King's Indian feels very close to being objectively unsound to me even though it pains me that I cannot seem to rescue this legendary, storied opening. Is it possible to get both these conditions rolled into one?

[@tamilyfacts6019]

You can try Schechter/Chebanenko Slav (Chebanenko avoid symmetrical structures vs the exchange) or the Janowski QGD because trust me, you will go back in time and torture Botvnik if you knew about the Botvnik QGD exchange. QGD generally gets dry but Janowski gets your pieces out for a patient middlegame where white doesn't just win quickly with the minority attack or f3-e4 plans. Maybe you can also try g6 Benoni where you don't touch your e or d pawns until castling.

[@alfredoball-llovera8609]

Hi, coach andras. I play queens gambit declined against everything except e4. And it’s kind of worked out so far ~1300. But I am peaking so thinking of switching openings to expand my game. Is the Slav similar in that I can play it versus almost anything?

[@alfredoball-llovera8609]

I noticed you said it worked against English too, I’m just wondering if that means I can play it against even more openings.

[@suteakachess]

So nimzo/ bogo or slav?

[@lukastux3024]

I'm sorry for this off-topic comment, but you look fantastic in that shirt ;)

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Oh thank you! It’s my favourite!

[@doffdrayton1302]

Yes It was whet

[@hiddenchannel3902]

I thought you were a fan of attacking chess my friend, not solved openings for people who will be forever stuck in 2100 purgatory. You might as well recommend the Orthodox Defense next.

[@ChessCoachAndras]

Clearly both games were lacking in the attack department , friend, right?! Btw I do recommend this as a foundational opening, which is to teach solid, good habits. I don’t even know what you mean by getting stuck on 2100…

[@robinesperoza]

@@ChessCoachAndras Perhaps those poor 2100s like VML, Dubov and Keymer. Wouldn't want to play the same opening as those losers. (thanks for the vid)