100 Repertoires Semi-Slav by FM Nate Solon

An Orthodox Opening.
Unorthodox Execution.
Excellent Results.

If you want to get your opponents out of their comfort zone, you don’t necessarily have to play a rare opening. A safer and often more effective method is to choose a well-known opening and then sprinkle in a few surprises along the way.

That is exactly what you will find in this course: it is a full repertoire against everything except 1.e4, based on solid and principled opening lines, but with just the right amount of deviations to keep your opponents uncomfortable.

The backbone of this repertoire is the Semi-Slav, characterized by the strong pawn triangle e6-d5-c6:

The starting position of the Semi-Slav

Take Your Opponents Off the Beaten Path
and into the Lion’s Den

As a former professional poker player and data analyst, author Nate Solon has a clear approach for openings:

💡 Understand what your opponents want, and don’t give it to them;
💡 Opt for lines that perform best statistically.

The Semi-Slav provides ideal conditions for this approach: it is an orthodox and well-respected opening, but—unlike most other responses to 1.d4—it offers plenty of less common, yet well-scoring continuations into sharp and dynamic positions your opponents probably don’t want to get into.

An example: after White’s most common move 5.Bg5 (continuation from the above position), you won’t play the standard …Be7. Instead, you will grab the unprotected c-pawn to enter the ultra-sharp Botvinnik variation:

The idea of the Botvinnik is to protect the pawn with …b5,
not only consolidating an extra pawn, but also cramping White’s position.

At the amateur level, this system is quite rare, so your opponents will often not know the best responses. If White fails to play energetically, they can quickly end up worse, and in some lines even get mated! But you have to be brave enough to sacrifice a bit of material, like in this beautiful example:

A mate in 23 moves with the Botvinnik attack.

Another surprise Solon included comes after White’s other main option in the Semi-Slav: if they play 5.e3, you will continue with the rare …a6—a move that has been employed by top players like Anand, Keymer and even Carlsen:

The idea behind …a6: supporting …dxc4, …b5 and ultimately …c5

Where necessary, the author also deviates from the Semi-Slav while keeping it in the same spirit, all for the sake of simplicity and reduction of theoretical effort. For example, against approaches where White delays Nc3, you won’t set up your pawn triangle directly, but develop the light-squared bishop first—amongst other reasons, to make the idea …a6 work.

This approach (or) setup is also used against the English (1.c4) and can lead to positions like this one:

This is what it can look like when you develop the bishop
before setting up the pawn triangle in combination with the …a6 idea

This course only contains 100 lines, so Solon made sure to cover everything as efficiently as possible, without leaving anything out. He uses the same ideas and setups wherever possible, while clearly explaining the subtle differences—like when to develop your light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain and when to keep it inside.

Here’s an overview of what’s covered:

✅ 1.d4:
• Against the Queen’s Gambit you will play the Semi-Slav, with the sharp Botvinnik variation against 5.Bg5, and the unconventional …a6 against 5.e3;
• In the Exchange Slav you will keep everything safe with a move that most White players probably also don’t expect;
• Against d4-systems like London and Colle, you will deviate from your pawn triangle to play an early …c5.

✅ 1.c4
Against the English, you will play 1…c6, and in many cases transpose to known Slav territory.

✅ 1.Nf3
Against the Réti, you will largely aim for the same familiar e6-d5-c6 setup.

✅ Other first moves:
To get you ready for all games not starting with e4, you’ll also learn how to respond to less common first moves, including rarities like the Grob and the Bird’s Opening.

Author Nate Solon has carved a reputation not only as a strong player, but also as an expert in adult improvement.