David Vigorito: Chess explained - The Main-Line Slav

Gambit Verlag, paperback, Englisch, ISBN: 978-1-906454-05-0, 112 Seiten, 2009.

Chess Explained books provide an understanding of an opening and the middlegames to which it leads, enabling you to find the right moves and plans in your own games. It is as if you were sitting at the board with a chess coach answering your questions about the plans for both sides, the ideas behind particular moves, and what specific knowledge you need to have.

The Main-Line Slav is one of the key battlegrounds of modern chess, with adherents among all levels of chess-players. It is notoriously difficult for White to prove any advantage against Black's solid set-up, while the lack of symmetry in the position provides scope for creative players to obtain winning chances with either colour. This book discusses all major lines following the moves 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4. There are many strategic directions the play can take: sometimes the centre is blasted open and piece-play dominates, while in other cases the centre becomes fixed, or remains dynamic well into the middlegame. Vigorito dissects the most important themes and nuances, placing them firmly in the context of the practical struggle, making sure that readers will be familiar with the resources at their disposal, and understand when to employ them.

David Vigorito is an International Master from the United States. He plays regularly in high-level competitions, including the US Championship. He has written extensively for a variety of publications and is a chess teacher. This is his first book for Gambit.

Reviews:
"I like his writing style and genuinely felt I understood The Slav better after studying this book. In my opinion this is one of the best of the 'Chess Explained' range and one which club players should find very useful and instructive." - Sean Marsh, marshtowers.blogspot.com

"This book is certainly worth every penny you pay for it!" - John Elburg, chessbooks.nl

"I found the introductory comments to each chapter ... readily comprehensible and provided enough initial information to get an immediate idea of what both Black and White are trying to achieve. Then in playing through the games I was struck by the high proportion of explanatory text ... [the author has] tried to stick to the ethos of the series in not giving too many side-lines and variations, though of course it is impossible to annotate games without looking at alternative variations at some point. ... high marks for sticking to the task in hand. ... highly readable and informative ... an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a new defence to 1 d4." - Alan Sutton, En Passant

"...a broad overview of a very complex system and fulfils its function very well" - John Saunders, BCM

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