An effective way of meeting the 6.Ne5-Slav

After the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 the second most frequent reply is 6.Ne5 (after 6.e3) and it is especially popular with strong players. Danielsen recommends in his suggested repertoire 6...Nbd7, and 7.Nxc4 should be followed by 7...Nb6 (instead of the classical 7...Qc7). After 8.Ne5 a5 we have an important starting position on the board. White now has the alternatives 9.e3, 9.Bg5, 9.g3 and 9.f3, but as has been shown above all by the top Chinese players Wang Yue, Bu Xingzhi and Ni Hua, Black can hold his own in every case.