1. d2d4  1... d7d5  2. c2c4  2... c7c6  3. g1f3  3... g8f6  4. e2e3 When I was a tournament player I loved playing this opening with both colors. It leads to the kind of long-term strategic battle that I've always enjoyed. That's exactly what we'll see in this game. 4... c8g4 Of course there are other options here. Against 4...e6, White usually tries to prove the advantages of not having the knight already developed on c3, although I have never quite understood what those advantages are. In any case, the Black players can hardly resist the temptation to develop the c8-bishop, something they cannot do most of the time in the normal lines of the Semi-Slav Defense. The other very popular option is 4...Bf5, and that was usually my choice back in the days when I played this variation.