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Ponderchess / Semi-Slav Defense

Botvinnik Variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4. A very sharp and heavily analysed line: Black holds the c4 pawn with ...b5, White gives up a knight on g5, and both kings come under fire.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4

Step through it in the Semi-Slav Defense explorer →

Key ideas

  • The main line is 6...b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6. White's knight sacrifice opens lines on the kingside, the piece is regained on f6, and a white pawn stays lodged deep in Black's camp.
  • Black's usual set-up is 11...Bb7 12.g3 c5 13.d5 Qb6 14.Bg2 O-O-O. Black's king goes to the queenside, and the queenside pawn mass and the long diagonal give Black counterplay against White's king.
  • Deviations within the variation have their own names: 11.g3 (the Lilienthal Variation) and 11.Qf3 (the Szabo Variation) delay the capture on f6, and 9.exf6 gxh4 10.Ne5 is the Ekstrom Variation.
  • Black players who want less forcing play choose 5...h6, the Moscow Variation, which after 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 gives Black the bishop pair in a calmer position. 6.Bh4 dxc4 instead is the Anti-Moscow Gambit.

Plans for White

Know the forcing lines precisely. After 11.exf6, fianchetto the king's bishop with g3 and Bg2 to fight Black's bishop on b7, castle short, and break with d5 to open lines against Black's king.

Plans for Black

Black's compensation is the queenside pawns and the long diagonal. Play ...Bb7, ...c5 and ...Qb6, castle long, and push the queenside pawns while the bishop and queen aim at White's king.

For the wider picture, see the Semi-Slav Defense guide.

6 named lines of the Botvinnik Variation