Slav Defense - Three Knights Variation (4.Nf3, after 3.Nc3 3...Nf6)
After 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4, meet 5...Bf5, 6.e3 e6 and develop with Bb4, O-O and Bg6, aiming for ...Qc7 to prep ...e5. You accept the bishop pair but get doubled g-pawns and a queenside majority.
Let's learn the Three Knights Variation! White develops the knight toward e5, so we capture on c4 and steer play into the Czech Variation. Our queen ends up supporting a future push to e5. Let's begin with 1.d4.
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Scroll the moves: the board follows.
Key lines
The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.
- Main Line
… 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Rd1 Qc7
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. a4 b4 7. e5 bxc3 8. exf6 cxb2 9. Bxb2 exf6 10. Bxc4 Bb4+ 11. Nd2 Qe7+ 12. Qe2 Na6
- Trap: 9.Bxc4, you win a piece
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. a4 b4 7. Na2 Nxe4 8. Nxb4 e6 9. Bxc4 Bxb4+ 10. Kf1 Nd6
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. a4 b4 7. Na2 Nxe4 8. Nxb4 e6 9. Nc2 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Nxd2 11. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 12. Nxd2 Na6
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. a4 b4 7. Na2 Nxe4 8. Bxc4 e6 9. O-O a5 10. Re1 Nf6
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Ne4 Bf5 8. Ng3 e6 9. Nxf5 exf5 10. g3 Na6
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. a4 e6 8. Ng5 Be7 9. h4 h6 10. Nge4 b4 11. Nb1 c5
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. a4 e6 8. axb5 Nxc3 9. bxc3 cxb5 10. Ng5 Bb7 11. Qh5 g6 12. Qg4 Be7
- 6. Ne5
… 5... Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. Nxc4 c5 8. dxc5 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Bxc5 10. f3 Nc6
- 6. Ne5
… 5... Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. Nxc4 c5 8. e3 Nc6 9. dxc5 Qxd1+ 10. Nxd1 Nd7 11. Nd6+ Bxd6 12. cxd6 Nb4
- 6. Ne5
… 5... Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 Bb4 8. e4 Bxe4 9. fxe4 Nxe4 10. Bd2 Qxd4 11. Nxe4 Qxe4+ 12. Qe2 Bxd2+ 13. Kxd2 Qd5+ 14. Kc2 Na6 15. Nxc4 O-O
- 6. Ne5
… 5... Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 Bb4 8. Nxc4 O-O
- 6. Bg5
… 5... Bf5 6. Bg5 Ne4 7. e3 Nxg5 8. Nxg5 e5 9. Nf3 Nd7 10. Bxc4 Bd6 11. d5 Nf6
- 6. Bg5
… 5... Bf5 6. Bg5 Ne4 7. Bh4 Qa5
- Trap: 8.e3, you win a piece
… 5... Bf5 6. Bg5 Ne4 7. Nxe4 Bxe4 8. e3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Qa5+ 10. Kd1 Qxg5 11. Bxc4 e6 12. h4 Qa5
- 9. Qb3
… 8... O-O 9. Qb3 c5 10. dxc5 a5 11. Rd1 Nbd7
- 10. Rd1
… 9... Bg6 10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nd7
Other chapters
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. a4 b4 7. Na2 Nxe4 8. Be3 b3
4.Bg5 Lines (after 3.Nc3 3...Nf6)
White meets ...Nf6 with 4.Bg5, then often plays 6.a4, a mistake. Meet it with 6...b4, grab the pawn with 7...Nxe4, and push 8...b3. Trade on c3 with Nxc3, develop Be6, and hit White's weak pawns with Qa5.
13 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bf4 dxc4 5. e3 b5 6. a4 Qb6 7. axb5 cxb5 8. Nf3 e6 9. Be2 Bb4
4.Bf4 Lines (after 3.Nc3 3...Nf6)
White develops 4.Bf4, then tries 6.a4 to challenge your queenside after you play 5...b5. Castle, retreat your bishop to e7, then push b4 and bring your bishop to a6. Aim for a queenside pawn majority against White's isolated b2 pawn.
8 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 h6 8. O-O Nbd7
Other 4th moves after 3.Nc3 3...Nf6 (4.e3)
After 4.e3, play 4...Bf5 and meet 5.Nf3 with 5...e6, offering a trade with 6...Bxd3 if given the chance. You aim for a solid, easy setup with your king safely castled.
3 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3
Modern Line (3.Nf3)
White plays the Modern Line with 3.Nf3, then develops with 4.Nc3, eyeing your d5 pawn. You meet 1.d4 with ...d5 and 2.c4 with ...c6, so a pawn can recapture on d5 and hold the center. Aim for a solid Slav Defense structure with your center firmly supported.
5 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 e6 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. a3 a6
Exchange Variation (3.cxd5)
White opens lines early with 3.cxd5, the Exchange Slav. You recapture cxd5, develop with Nf6, Nc6 and Bf5, then play e6 and trade bishops on d3 before castling. Watch the trap after 5.Bg5 Ne4 6.Nxe4 dxe4 7.e3 Qa5+, winning a piece. Aim for a plan with a6, Na5 and Rc8, trading rooks on the open c-file.
9 lines
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