The Slav Move By Move

This is a brand new series which provides an ideal platform to study chess openings. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, Move by Move greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of opening knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved, and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to study any chess opening and at the same time improve your general opening skills and knowledge. In this book, Cyrus Lakdawala examines the universally popular Slav Defence which has been his main choice against 1 d4 for many years. Here he shares his experience and knowledge of his favourite opening, presents a repertoire for Black and provides answers to all the key questions.

Chebanenko's move 4?a6 in the Slav Defence has grown into one of the main systems for Black as it is an extremely flexible and almost universal weapon against the Queen's Gambit. The Chebanenko Slav is very popular among top chess players, and club and internet players like it as well, because it offers Black solidity and active counterplay in all lines. Victor Bologan is a world-class chess player, writes in a very accessible style and has included many tips, tests and tools.

This series provides an ideal platform to study chess openings. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of opening knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to study any chess opening and at the same time improve your general chess skills and knowledge. In this book, International Master Cyrus Lakdawala studies the Colle, one of his favourite opening systems. The Colle is a reliable option for White, and is easy to learn and play. White typically builds on solid foundations before unleashing an attack on the enemy king. This straightforward plan makes it particularly popular at club level, but the Colle is played successfully by Grandmasters too. Lakdawala covers both the main lines and the more aggressive Colle-Zukertort Attack, examines the key positional and tactical ideas for both sides, and tells you everything you need to know about playing the Colle.

The Semi-Slav, one of the most popular openings among the chess elite, is also one of the most popular chess openings that Black can play against 1.d4. This book provides expert guidance on how to play this exciting variation. The reader receives an exciting Black repertoire against 1.d4, and a choice of two lines against Whites main tries.

Jose Raul Capablanca is a chess legend, world champion and quite simply one of the greatest players in the history of the game. His achievements and seemingly effortless style of play won many admirers, and his legacy includes a treasure of instructive games. Studying Capablanca's play is a must for any aspiring chess player. For Cyrus Lakdawala, it was a key factor in his chess development and improvement, and in this book he revisits many of his favourite Capablanca games. Lakdawala examines Capablanca's skills in attack, defence, counter-attack, exploiting imbalances, accumulating advantages and, of course, his legendary endgame play. Move by Move provides an ideal platform to study chess. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to improve your chess skills and knowledge.

Grandmaster Repertoire 17 The Classical Slav provides a sound and active chess opening repertoire for Black based on 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4. White's early deviations from move 3 onwards are also covered. Boris Avrukh has had the Slav in his repertoire throughout his career and has never lost a serious game with it."

Lars Schandorff's two volumes on 1.d4 were celebrated by reviewers and grandmasters. GM Simen Agdestein said: "I have recently been reading Lars Schandorff's Playing 1.d4 books, thinking that it cannot possibly get more instructive than this." Meanwhile, GM Boris Avrukh's verdict was simple: "Lars, I want to play your book." Now Schandorff switches sides and offers a top-class Semi-Slav repertoire against 1.d4. The Semi-Slav strikes the perfect balance of ambition and soundness, which has made it popular at every level up to and including the world championship. Black needs to know his stuff, but Schandorff is the ideal guide to make the learning process a pleasure.

The Slav has been played by 11 of the first 13 World Champions, and is favored by many of the stars of modern chess, including Anand, Kramnik, and Shirov. This is the first English-language book to provide comprehensive coverage of the Slav, a vastly popular opening due to its extreme solidity and abundant possibilities for dynamic counterplay. The author provides detailed coverage to help players as both White and Black face the challenges of this tough, yet rewarding opening. All lines after 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 are discussed, except those that transpose to the Semi-Slav, with the sharpest tactical lines of the Slav receiving especially detailed coverage.