Answers.Body: <p><strong>Fight for the center</strong></p>
  
  <p>The variation with 9.Nh4 has its own flawor. For the other main lines, the logical plans flow from the strategic evaluation of each side's plusses and minuses:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>White enjoys the better center. Black's dxc4 was a slight concession in the fight for the center, Pd4 is firmly established.</li>
  <li>On the other hand, Black has freed both his bishops, while White's queen bishop is still locked inside his pawn chain.</li>
  <li>White has a very slight development advantage, having already castled.</li>
  <li>White's Q-side is slightly weakened by the a2-a4 advance. The stronghold on b4 for one of Black's pieces makes his lack of space more manageable.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>As a consequence, White aims to increase his space adantage, free his Bc1 and set his center in motion with <strong>e3-e4</strong>. If possible, he would also like to provoque weaknesses in Black position (the usual suspects are Pb7 fixed by a4-a5 or targeted by Qb3, and the kingside pawns White tries to induce into advancing by threatening a K-side attack, or wants to double with an exchange on g6).</p>
  
  <p>Conversely, Black tries to slow down White advance on e4 (8...0-0 9.Qe2 Bg6!?, e.g., aims to avoid 10.e4 Bxc3 11.exf5), complete his development, and nullify White's central advantage by exchanging the Pd4 with ...c6-c5 or ...e6-e5 (Nbd7, Qe7/Qa5, Rc8/d8/e8 are typical preparatory moves to engineer those breaks). Alternatively, he can put pressure on White's e4-d4 center when it's formed in order to provoque an early e4-e5 (which gives White attacking chances on the K-side but also the d5-square for Black).</p>
  
  <p>The battle for and against e4 is the main topic of the next 5-10 moves.</p>
  
  <p>You can check several battles from the Topalov-Kramnik Elista WC match (WC stands for 'World Championship', not for 'Toiletgate'), or old games by Max Euwe and Gideon Stahlberg.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-11-19T17:15:14.323Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-07-28T11:35:03.670Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2019-07-28T11:35:03.670Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Evargalo
Body: <p>I'm thinking about adding the Slav defense to my opening repertoire.  I'm looking at the following line, which I believe is the main line:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[fen ""]
  1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Online, there's a lot of variations and specific moves and counter-moves, but I haven't found much in the way of general plans for black and white here.</p>
  
  <p><strong>Question</strong>: What are the main plans for black and white in the main-line Slav after 5...Bf5 6.e3?</p>
  
  <p>Play usually continues:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[fen ""]
  1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>After which black may castle or play 8...Nbd7, and white may play any of 9. Qb3, or 9. Qe2, or 9. Nh4.  But again, these are just moves, not plans.</p>
  
Tags: <opening><1.d4><slav-defense>
Title: What are the main plans for black and white in the main-line Slav after 5...Bf5 6.e3?
ThreadText: # What are the main plans for black and white in the main-line Slav after 5...Bf5 6.e3?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-19)
  
  I'm thinking about adding the Slav defense to my opening repertoire. I'm looking at the following line, which I believe is the main line:
  
  ```
  [fen ""]
  1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3
  
  ```
  
  Online, there's a lot of variations and specific moves and counter-moves, but I haven't found much in the way of general plans for black and white here.
  
  **Question**: What are the main plans for black and white in the main-line Slav after 5...Bf5 6.e3?
  
  Play usually continues:
  
  ```
  [fen ""]
  1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O
  
  ```
  
  After which black may castle or play 8...Nbd7, and white may play any of 9. Qb3, or 9. Qe2, or 9. Nh4. But again, these are just moves, not plans.
  
  **Tags:** opening, 1.d4, slav-defense
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2018-11-19. Score: 4
  
  **Fight for the center**
  
  The variation with 9.Nh4 has its own flawor. For the other main lines, the logical plans flow from the strategic evaluation of each side's plusses and minuses:
  
  * White enjoys the better center. Black's dxc4 was a slight concession in the fight for the center, Pd4 is firmly established.
  * On the other hand, Black has freed both his bishops, while White's queen bishop is still locked inside his pawn chain.
  * White has a very slight development advantage, having already castled.
  * White's Q-side is slightly weakened by the a2-a4 advance. The stronghold on b4 for one of Black's pieces makes his lack of space more manageable.
  
  As a consequence, White aims to increase his space adantage, free his Bc1 and set his center in motion with **e3-e4**. If possible, he would also like to provoque weaknesses in Black position (the usual suspects are Pb7 fixed by a4-a5 or targeted by Qb3, and the kingside pawns White tries to induce into advancing by threatening a K-side attack, or wants to double with an exchange on g6).
  
  Conversely, Black tries to slow down White advance on e4 (8...0-0 9.Qe2 Bg6!?, e.g., aims to avoid 10.e4 Bxc3 11.exf5), complete his development, and nullify White's central advantage by exchanging the Pd4 with ...c6-c5 or ...e6-e5 (Nbd7, Qe7/Qa5, Rc8/d8/e8 are typical preparatory moves to engineer those breaks). Alternatively, he can put pressure on White's e4-d4 center when it's formed in order to provoque an early e4-e5 (which gives White attacking chances on the K-side but also the d5-square for Black).
  
  The battle for and against e4 is the main topic of the next 5-10 moves.
  
  You can check several battles from the Topalov-Kramnik Elista WC match (WC stands for 'World Championship', not for 'Toiletgate'), or old games by Max Euwe and Gideon Stahlberg.
  
  
  ---
  
  