Opening Overview: Slav Defense Krause Attack

In my own games, I enjoy experimenting with openings I haven’t tried in the past. Doing so exposes me to new types of positions, and forces me to broaden my arsenal of strategic ideas. It also has the side benefits of making me more difficult to prepare for, and, last but not least, of being fun!

Preparing new openings can be a little disorienting at first. The variations can seem mysterious and difficult to remember if one lacks a solid grasp of what both players are after. To combat this, it can be helpful to start with a quick conceptual overview of the opening with the goal of understanding basic ideas without delving too deeply into detailed analysis.

I recently found myself preparing for a player who meets 1. d4 with the Slav. I wanted to try out the Krause Attack, which is an interesting and ambitious response, but I had never played either side of this line. The Krause Attack is defined by the moves

In this article, I’ll try to give a high-level overview of the Krause Attack. Hopefully you can take it for a spin in your own games!

In the main line of the Slav, white plays 6. e3 and attempts to recapture with the bishop on c4.

In the Krause Attack, white instead attempts to recapture with his knight, which also aids in preparing to build a big center via f3 and e4 (since white’s knight is no longer in the way on f3).

Black has several possible ways of reacting to this plan:

1. The violent approach: black can let white play f3 and e4, and then sacrifice a piece on e4
2. The casual approach: black can continue to develop, and let white execute his plan
3. The counter-attacking approach: black can strike in the center before white has a chance to play f3 and e4
4. The tricky approach: black can play 6…Na6, which makes white’s plan inadvisable for tactical reasons.

1. Violent

This position is very double edged. White often tries to offer a queen exchange with Qe5. Black sometimes acquiesces to this if he can improve his pawn structure by bringing his c pawn to d5. The resulting piece vs. 3 pawns endgame is unclear. White also often develops his rook via h4 and Rh3, and tries to hide his king on a2. If white fails to exchange queens, black can often develop a strong attack.

2. Casual

In the Violent Approach, black took drastic action once white executed his f3-e4 plan. In the Casual Approach, black figures that he can live with white’s big center, especially if he’s able to exchange a pair of pieces first.

White has achieved everything he wanted, and likely stands a bit better here. On the other hand, black is very solid. The game Van Der Stricht vs. Van Wessel, from the Dutch League in 2016, continued as follows:

What would you play here as white?

3. Counter-Attacking

This is the most popular way of meeting the Krause Attack. Here, black beats white to the punch by playing his own e5 pawn break before white gets a chance to play e4. The disadvantage is that he opens himself up to a pin

Black now has two main approaches:

1. The stubborn approach: further bolstering e5 via f6
2. The distraction approach: playing g5 to force white to break the pin

Stubborn

White has a pleasant position and can play moves such as h4 or a5-a6 gaining space on the flanks. However, black is again very solid.

Distraction

Here, white can castle on either side. Castling short is riskier, and invites h5-h4 from black, while with O-O-O white hopes to play more positionally with moves like Kb1 and Ne4. Salem Saleh vs. Erik Blomqvist, Gibraltar 2015 was a fun example of white’s potential in this line:

4. Tricky

Black has one more popular idea he can employ against the Krause Attack: the tricky 6…Na6.

If white continues with his usual plan, black has a strong response which solves his opening problems.

Instead, white should switch plans here and opt for 7. e3.

White can play aggressively with e4 and f4 and likely stands a bit better.

The Krause Attack is an ambitious way for white to play against the Slav. White hopes to build a big center with f3 and e4, and each of black’s attempts to counteract this leads to interesting, double-edged play. So next time your opponent plays the Slav, give 6. Ne5 a try!