Arsenal for Slav Players by GM Vladimir Malakhov & GM Pier Luigi Basso
There is a kind of move a Slav player learns to dread — 4.g3, 4.Qc2, 4.Qb3, 4.Nbd2 — whose whole purpose is to avoid a theoretical debate rather than win one. White keeps the tension low, sidesteps the heavy theory, and hopes a small pull quietly does the work.
These systems are popular because they are easy for White and awkward for Black to meet without drifting into a slightly worse, passive game. This course takes them seriously, treating each as a battleground that deserves a concrete answer — and giving Black two of them.
Two weapons for every system
Against each of White's systems you receive two complete, independent solutions, so you can pick the one that suits your style. Against 4.g3 Bf5 5.Nc3 you choose the creative path or the solid one; against 4.Nbd2, the cunning 4...h6 or the original 4...Bf5 5.Nh4 Bd7.
The emblem of the approach is a genuine novelty: 5...h5! against 4.g3 Bf5 5.Nc3 — a brand-new idea, stronger than the natural-looking ...h6, and the course explains exactly why the extra tempo matters.
The authors
GM Pier Luigi Basso supplies the ten theoretical chapters, writing from experience — he faced 4.g3 many times in his own career. GM Vladimir Malakhov adds five deeply annotated model games, including wins for Black such as Gledura–Vitiugov. He anchors the Malakhov's Slav Defense series, and this course is where he and Basso close the remaining doors.
Map of variations
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6
4.g3 Bf5
- 5.Nc3 h5! — the novelty, the creative road → Chapter 2
- 5.Nc3 dxc4 — the solid, practical road → Chapter 3
- 5.Bg2 e6 6.Nc3 h6 — the bishop can retreat to h7 if needed - effective against Nh4 (model game Gledura–Vitiugov)
4.Qc2
- 4...dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Be7 — the main solution; 7...Be7 first, not 7...Nbd7 (also meets 4.Qb3) → Chapter 6
- 4...g6 — the Schlechter setup, with ...Bf5 to follow → Chapter 7
4.Qb3 a6 5.Nc3
- independent alternatives → Chapter 8
- transposition into the Chebanenko → Chapter 9
4.Nbd2
- 4...h6 — first weapon; ...Bf5 next, and Nh4 is harmless → Chapter 4
- 4...Bf5 5.Nh4 Bd7 — second weapon; ...e6, ...c5, bishop reroutes via ...Bc6 → Chapter 5
4.Bg5 / 4.Bf4 — sidelines, with a clear answer ready → Chapter 10
Arsenal Course Features
An Arsenal Course gives sidelines the same full attention usually reserved for main lines, approaching them as real battlegrounds that call for specific, active solutions — packaged as a complete training system.
- 10 chapters
- 20 test positions
- 5 annotated model games
- Memory Booster
- To Go version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN (English, German, French, Spanish)
Closing the Slav
The Malakhov's Slav Defense series already covers the systems with names of their own — the Chebanenko, the Slow Slav, the Exchange Slav. What remained were the quiet tries opponents reach for to stay out of your preparation. This course fills that gap, completing Black's answers to everything White can try after 3.Nf3 Nf6.
Add the two solutions per system, and the next time an opponent plays a quiet fourth move to sidestep the theory, you will have a concrete reply waiting — and the choice of which one to reach for.