Chess opening · ECO D10
Slav Defense
2...c6 is the Slav Defense's answer to the Queen's Gambit. The c-pawn backs up d5, and unlike 2...e6 it leaves the diagonal from c8 to h3 open, so the light-squared bishop can develop outside the pawn chain. The price is that the knight on b8 loses its natural c6 square, and in the main line Black takes on c4 after 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3, so White has to spend moves winning that pawn back.
- Rank by weighted share
- #38 of 159
Key moves
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6
- 2... c6With c6 behind it, the d5 pawn can be replaced by another pawn if White trades on d5, so Black keeps a foothold in the center. The e-pawn stays home for now, and that is the key difference from the Queen's Gambit Declined: the c8 bishop is not yet shut in.
Getting the c8 bishop out before ...e6
Black's usual order is ...Nf6, then ...Bf5 or ...Bg4, and only then ...e6. Once the bishop stands outside the chain, the e6 pawn no longer blocks it, and Black ends up with a compact center plus an active bishop.
The drawback shows on the queenside. With the bishop gone from c8, the b7 pawn has lost a defender, and White can answer ...Bf5 with Qb3 to attack it.
What a4 gives away
When Black captures on c4, White often spends a move on a4 so that ...b5 cannot hold the extra pawn. That push has a lasting cost. With the a-pawn on a4 and the c-pawn gone, no white pawn covers b4 for the time being, and a black bishop or knight can settle there.
The main line with a4 and ...Bf5
3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O
White stops ...b5 with a4, then takes the pawn back with the bishop and castles. Black's light-squared bishop came out to f5 before ...e6 closed the diagonal, and the other bishop uses the b4 square that a4 left without pawn cover.
Top replies by rating
Nc3 leads every band. Nf3 is third or absent below 1600 but holds second place from 1600 up, while e3 slips from second to third and then out of the top three at 2000 and up.
Related openings
Try it on the board. The first coached game and three analyses are free.