Play the Slav

PLAY THE SLAV
Author: James Vigus
Everyman Chess (2008)
224 pages
$22.95
Reviewed by John Donaldson

PLAY THE SLAV by James Vigus is an opening repertoire book devoted to 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 and is significantly more up to date than earlier, more general works on the Slav by fellow Brits Matthew Sadler, Glenn Flear and Graham Burgess.

Vigus, author of an earlier well-received book on the Pirc, advocates the following repertoire against White’s major systems:

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qe2 Bg4

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 0-0 9.Nh4 both 9...Nbd7 and 9...Bg4

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Nb6 8.Ne5 a5

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Nh5

The latter two deserve some explanation. A common way of avoiding the Slav proper is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 when 4...Bf5 is a bit of mistake (though the late Alex Wojtkiewicz defended 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3 Bc8 on many occasions) and 4...g6 and 4...e6 lead to different openings. The solution Vigus proposes is the sequence 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4, which he dubs The Argentinean Defense in deference to the contributions of GMs Ruben Felgaer and Fernando Peralta. Vigus gives 20 pages on this move order which is playable precisely because White has developed his Knight to c3 early (3.Nf3 dxc4 is not nearly as good).

All Slav players face the question of how to try to conjure up interesting play against the Exchange Variation. David Vigorito, in his recent book on the Semi-Slav (but via 2...c6) advocated symmetrical play and a willingness to play long endgames, but Vigus has something more robust in mind. He likes the old Botvinnik specialty with a twist: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Nh5 (Botvinnik’s old 6...e6 7.e3 Nh5 is under a cloud due to 8.Bg5 Qb6 9.Bb5. Dreev has had success here but Vigus shows the line is actually quite good for White). 7.Bg5 (7.Be5 and 7.Bd2 are also examined) 7...h6 8.Bd2 e6 9.e3 Nf6 10.Bd3 Bd6.

PLAY THE SLAV is the rare book that will appeal to players of different strengths from 1800 to IMs and GMs. The clearly written introduction (over 30 pages) provides a useful overview for newcomers, and regular practitioners will appreciate the up to date coverage on the Sokolov Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Nb6 8.Ne5 a5) to White’s fashionable 6.Ne5.

Highly Recommended

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