Slav Defense - General Considerations

General Considerations

Black faces three major problems in many variations of the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD):

1. Development of the black queen bishop is difficult, as it is often blocked by ...e6.
2. The pawn structure offers White targets, especially the possibility of a minority attack on the queenside in the Exchange variation of the QGD.
3. White often plays Bg5 to pin the black knight on f6 against the black queen, and unpinning it is awkward for Black.

The Slav addresses all of these problems. Black's queen bishop is unblocked; the pawn structure remains balanced; and the move Bg5 is not yet a threat as the unmoved black pawn on e7 prevents the pin. Also, if Black later takes the gambit pawn with ...dxc4, the support provided by the pawn on c6 allows ...b5 which may threaten to keep the pawn, or drive away a white piece that has captured it, gaining Black a tempo for queenside expansion.

On the other hand, Black usually will not be able to develop the queen bishop without first giving up the center with ...dxc4, and developing this bishop may leave the black queenside weak. Additionally, the thematic break ...c5 incurs the loss of a tempo.