The Slav, The

The Slav Defence (1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6) has been one of Black's most reliable defences to the queen's pawn since its adoption by World Champions Alekhine and Euwe in the 1930s. Nowadays it is very popular both at grandmaster level (it is used regularly by Ivanchuk, Lautier and Short) and with club players. In this book Grandmaster Matthew Sadler explains the strategy and tactics of this perennial favourite. Through the use of model games for both sides, the author provides a thorough grounding in the key ideas, so that readers can quickly and confidently start to use the Slav in their own games. Also included is a survey of the trendy new 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 a6 variation.

With victory in the British Championship in 1995, Matthew Sadler established himself as one of the world¿s leading young grandmasters. His performances at the Olympiad in 1996 and European Championships in 1997 were major factors in the success of the English team at those events. This book completes a trilogy of Queen¿s Gambit books by grandmaster Sadler which includes The Slav and the Semi-Slav, both of which are published by Everyman Chess.