As Black

Slav Defence

The Slav Defence is a chess opening for Black that starts with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6.

...c6 defends d5 without blocking the c8 bishop. A solid, reliable defence against the Queen's Gambit.

Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero

12 lines

Train this level

  1. Opponent's mistake · 6.Nb5

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.dxe5 d4 6.Nb5 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qxb5

  2. Opponent's mistake · 6.Qd2

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e5 4.dxe5 d4 5.Nb1 Qa5+ 6.Qd2 Bb4 7.Nc3 dxc3 8.bxc3 Bxc3 9.Nf3 Na6

  3. 1...d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e5 4.dxe5 d4 5.Ne4 Qa5+ 6.Bd2 Qxe5 7.Ng3 Nf6 8.Nf3 Qd6 9.e3 dxe3 10.Bxe3 Qxd1+

  4. 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6 Bb7 12.g3 c5 13.d5 Qb6 14.Bg2 O-O-O 15.O-O b4

  5. 4...dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 Bc8 7.e3 e5 8.Bxc4 exd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.O-O O-O

  6. 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 e6

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 e6 6.e3 c5 7.Bxc4 Nc6 8.O-O a6 9.Qe2 cxd4 10.Rd1 Be7

  7. 1...d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nd2

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Nxc4 b5 8.Nce5 Bb7 9.O-O a6 10.Qe2 c5

  8. 4...dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.Rd1 Bg6

  9. 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 g6

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.O-O Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e6 10.Rd1 Nbd7

  10. 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Nc3 e6 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Nh4 Nbd7 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.g5 Nh5

  11. 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Na6

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Na6 6.e4 Bg4 7.Bxc4 e6 8.O-O Be7 9.Be2 O-O 10.Be3 Qa5

  12. 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.c5 Bf5 6.Bf4 Nbd7 7.e3 e6 8.Be2 Be7 9.O-O O-O

Frequently asked questions

Is the Slav Defence good for beginners?

It suits players who already have some experience. On OpeningCraft it is aimed at players with Elo 1400 – 1600. It suits players who prefer long-term plans and pawn structure.

What traps are there in the Slav Defence?

OpeningCraft teaches 2 traps and opponent mistakes in this opening, for example: Opponent's mistake (6.Nb5); Opponent's mistake (6.Qd2).

How many lines of the Slav Defence do you need to learn?

OpeningCraft teaches 12, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.

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