When deciding upon a repertoire to meet 1 d4, those players whose natural inclination is to be aggressive have a difficult decision. There are plenty of outright counter-attacking tries such as the Benko Gambit, the King's Indian Defence and the Modern Benoni. However, such openings are generally considered borderline unsound at the higher levels. On the other hand the safe options such as the Queen's Gambit Declined and Queen's Gambit Accepted make it difficult to create middlegame complications. So, what to do?

Play the Semi-Slav! (1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Nf3 c6). This line provides a great balance between solidity and dynamism. The opening is undoubtedly sound but also contains plenty of latent aggressive possibilities. The Semi-Slav is also one of those openings that will repay players who enjoy studying the game. The lines are intricate and the player who is better prepared will have a substantial edge.

In this book Nicolas Yap uses the Semi-Slav as the basis for a complete repertoire with Black when facing 1 d4. Many lines based on an early Bf4 have become popular in recent years and strong counters are provided for all of them.

• A thorough, in-depth examination of a complex modern variation.


• A complete repertoire for Black against 1 d4.


• The question and answer method continually tests the reader's understanding.

Nicolás Yap started playing in tournaments aged nine, and won the Northern California K-8 Championship in 2003, the Northern California K-12 Championship in 2009 and was a part of the USA delegation at the 2005 World Youth Championship in Belfort, France. Having recently completed his academic studies he is now restarting his chess career, as well as planning to fulfill his two life dreams of becoming a grandmaster and entering medical school to become a doctor. This is his second book.