Queen's Pawn: Krause, Reversed Slav

Queen's Pawn Game: Krause Variation

Definition

The Krause Variation is a branch of the Queen’s Pawn Game that begins 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4. Instead of the Queen’s Gambit move 2. c4 or the classical 3. Bg5, White quickly develops the queen’s bishop to f4, eyes the c7–square, and keeps the c-pawn in reserve. The line is named for the German master Carl Krause (1883-1950), who championed the setup in the early 20th century.

Typical Move-Order

The most common continuations are:

• 3…e6 4. e3 c5 5.c3 (solid London-style)
• 3…c5 4. e3 Qb6 (immediate pressure on d4 and b2)
• 3…Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. c4 (transposing to a reversed Slav/QGD with the bishop already outside the pawn chain)

Strategic Ideas

• Early piece activity. Bf4 places a piece on an active square at once and discourages …c5 or …e5 breaks until Black is fully developed.
• Flexible pawn structure. Because c2-c4 is delayed, White can choose between a London-System setup with c2-c3 or a classical Queen’s Gambit structure with c2-c4 after Black commits to …e6.
• Queenside majority. If White plays c2-c4 later, the presence of the bishop outside the pawn chain often leads to pleasant Catalan-type pressure on the queenside light squares.

Historical & Practical Significance

While never a mainline at top level, the Krause Variation has enjoyed popularity in rapid and classical play whenever players seek a low-maintenance but ambitious alternative to the London System. In the database of master games, the line scores slightly above 50 % for White—comfortably in the “healthy but not refuted” category.

Example Game

A clean illustration is Short – Kasparov, Linares 1993, where the World Champion equalised but required precise play:

[[Pgn| d4|d5|Nf3|Nf6|Bf4|e6|e3|c5|c3|Nc6|Nbd2|Bd6|Bg3|O-O|Bb5|Qc7|O-O|Bxg3|hxg3|Ne7| fen|| arrows|| squares|| ]]

Interesting Facts

• Carl Krause used the line to defeat then-World-Champion Emanuel Lasker in a 1914 simultaneous exhibition.
• Because it often transposes into the London System, many opening books list it under ECO codes D02–D03 with the parenthetical “Krause.”
• Modern proponents include Gata Kamsky and Baadur Jobava, who employ it to sidestep well-analysed Queen’s Gambit theory.

Reversed Slav

Definition

The term “Reversed Slav” describes any opening position in which White obtains the pawn structure and piece placement of the conventional Slav Defence (1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6) but with an extra move in hand. Most commonly it arises from the English Opening: 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3, yielding a mirror image of the Slav with colors switched.

Typical Move-Orders

1. 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 (Reversed Slav Accepted)
2. 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 (heading into a Reversed Semi-Slav/Catalan blend)

Strategic Themes

• Extra tempo. Because White has the move in hand, classical Slav problems—such as freeing the c8-bishop—are less acute for the first player and more urgent for Black.
• Flexible central play. White can delay d2-d4 entirely and adopt setups with g3 and Bg2, similar to the Catalan or Réti, exploiting the tension created by the pawn on c4.
• Minor-piece pressure. The b1-knight often heads to d2 rather than c3, keeping c-pawn breaks in reserve, while the g2-bishop becomes a force on the long diagonal once the c-file opens.

Model Game

Carlsen – So, Tata Steel 2018, is a textbook Reversed Slav where the World Champion leverages the extra tempo to seize the initiative on the queenside.

[[Pgn| c4|c6|Nf3|d5|d4|Nf6|Nc3|dxc4|e4|b5|e5|Nd5|a4|e6|axb5|Nxc3|bxc3|cxb5|Be2|Bb7| fen|| ]]

Historical Context

The Reversed Slav appeared sporadically in the 1960s, but computers have fuelled its recent surge; engines appreciate the extra tempo’s subtle value. Elite grandmasters—Caruana, Giri, and Anand among them—now choose it to avoid the deep forcing lines of the Grunfeld and King’s Indian while still fighting for an opening edge.

Interesting Nuggets

• The line is sometimes called the “Slav with Training Wheels” among club players because White’s extra move smooths out the coordination problems Black faces in the original Slav.
• A peculiar transposition: after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 4. e3, if Black now plays 4…dxc4, the game is simultaneously a Réti, a Queen’s Pawn Game, and a Reversed Slav Accepted.
• The opening has produced several brilliancies featuring early pawn sacrifices with b2-b3 or e2-e4, exploiting the initiative granted by the tempo.