Belying its solid classical appearance, the Semi-Slav is on the Black’s most aggressive responses when White opens with the queen’s pawn. The Meran is its traditional mail line, and often leads to chaotic positions of immense strategic and tactical richness. This is territory where the player who is better prepared and has a superior ‘feel’ for the nuances will typically emerge victorious, even against a stronger opponent. Vera draws upon decades of personal experience to explain the underlying logic of the Meran and related lines, and to pick out the key features of positions that to the untrained eye might appear random and unfathomable. In addition to discussing the main lines after 5 e3, Vera also covers many subtle issues of move-order, which are of great importance when trying to steer the game into the desired channels.
Reinaldo Vera comes from Cuba and has been a grandmaster since 1988. He has won the Cuban Championship on two occasions and was a member of the Cuban national team for more that two decades. Vera graduated fro Havana University. |
THE MERAN SEMI-SLAV 
