The Slav Defense (1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6) has been one of Black's most reliable defenses to the queen's pawn since its adoption by World Champions Alekhine and Euwe in the 1930s. Nowadays it is very popular both at grandmaster level (it is used regularly by Ivanchuk, Lautier and Short) and with club players. In this book, Grandmaster Matthew Sadler explains the strategy and tactics of this perennial favorite. Through the use of model games for both sides, the author provides a thorough grounding in the key ideas so readers can quickly and confidently start to use the Slav in their own games. Also included is a survey of the trendy new 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 a6 variation.