Slav Defense - Early Bf4 (4.Bf4 dxc4)
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.
Let's learn the 4.Bf4 Lines! White develops the bishop to f4 and later offers a pawn trade on b5. We capture on c4, push b5, and bring our queen to b6. Let's begin with 1.d4.
Learn this chapter freeMain line
Scroll the moves: the board follows.
Key lines
The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.
- Main Line
… 7. axb5 cxb5 8. Nf3 e6 9. Be2 Bb4
- 5. a4
… 4... dxc4 5. a4 Nd5 6. Bxb8 Rxb8 7. e4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Qa5 9. Qd2 b5
- 5. a4
… 4... dxc4 5. a4 Nd5 6. Bg3 e6 7. e4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 b5 9. Nf3 Bd6 10. e5 Be7
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. a3 Bb7
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Bg3 Bf5
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. Nf3 e6 7. a4 Bb4 8. Qc2 Bb7
- 5. e4
… 4... dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. a4 b4 7. Na2 Be6 8. Nf3 Nxe4 9. Nxb4 Qb6 10. Nc2 Nd7 11. Qc1 Bd5
- 7. Nf3
… 6... Qb6 7. Nf3 e6 8. axb5 cxb5 9. Be2 Bb4
Other chapters
Three Knights Variation (4.Nf3)
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.
19 linesEarly Bg5 (4.Bg5 dxc4)
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.
17 linesEarly e3 Setup (3.e3, 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.
8 linesModern 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.
10 linesExchange 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.
11 lines
Learn Early Bf4 (4.Bf4 dxc4) on the board
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