First an answer to one of your specific questions. You don't need to worry about the move order 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 because you have 3...d4. In general I would be careful about playing ...d4 because you can get reversed Benoni positions, but here since you get tempo on the knight it's just better for Black. The more accurate move order would be 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf3 4.Nc3 at which point you would be best advised to play 4...a6 allowing a transposition to the Chebanenko Slav. These systems for White make it hard to transpose to the Classical Slav, it's either Semi-Slav or Chebanenko.

If you are curious, I am a Semi-Slav player and I personally play the following lines:

1. c4 c6 2.e4 d5, this version of the Panov is fine.

1. c4 c6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 e5, a very respected system against 2.g3 called the Accelerated Keres in the Marin books. 

1.c4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e3 Nf6, I follow the Anti-Meran lines from Sam Shankland's "Lifetime Repertoires: Black vs the English, Réti and sidelines". Black has nothing better than to transpose to the Meran. 

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6, I think this is a much more practical choice than the Reversed Benoni with 2...d4. Good coverage of this in "Lifetime Repertoires: Chebanenko Slav" by  GM Colovic. 

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg5, as covered in Beating Minor Openings by Victor Mikhalevski. 

All and all Slav players should be very happy against 1.Nf3 and 1.c4. A quote from Shankland's aforementioned Chessable course which I am really happy with: "One nice thing about the Semi-Slav is that unlike a lot of other d4 openings, it is pretty resilient to move-order tricks. For example, the Queens Gambit Accepted is avoided with 1. c4, the Benoni and Benko are avoided with 1. Nf3, the Grunfeld gives White a huge amount of extraneous options if he starts with 1. Nf3 or 1. c4, and the list goes on. Black can always play something like c5 on the first move, forcing a symmetrical English and leaving any trace of transposing to a d4 opening behind as early as move one, but Semi-Slav players have the added luxury of being able to transpose to their preferred repertoire in a lot of cases without giving White many good extraneous options." Highly recommend his Semi-Slav and anti English/Reti courses!!

ULIFT wrote on 06/07/14 at 09:22:28:


It's the most principled and very likely the best move in the position.  White is stuck playing some kind of reversed Benoni, and one where his opponent can potentially gain from not having advanced his c-pawn yet.

Thanks for all the replies.  Why all the love for 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4?  Just personal preference, or is there some other reason why everyone is recommending it?

Bonsai wrote on 06/06/14 at 20:24:46:


Very little is out-and-out bad these days. Its relative value, compared to 2...d5, is a bit worse. That's all.

tony37 wrote on 06/06/14 at 18:01:03:


I don't, I'm just saying that it's fine if that's your thing.  I'd play 2...d5.

ULIFT wrote on 06/06/14 at 17:47:05:


Sounds like you shouldn't worry much about transpositions when you don't even know what you're going to play against main lines  .  I'd just play 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4!, though.

ErictheRed wrote on 06/06/14 at 17:25:07:

how do you want to continue without it becoming an Old Indian main line?

Personally I'd go 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4!.  If you don't want to play the Meran and you don't seem to want to play ...a6 or ...g6 Slavs, I have to ask what you want to play after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 or 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3.  

And yes, 1.c4 c6 2.e4 e5 is perfectly fine.