Lars Schandorff's two volumes on 1.d4 were celebrated by reviewers and grandmasters. GM Simen Agdestein said: "I have recently been reading Lars Schandorff's Playing 1.d4 books, thinking that it cannot possibly get more instructive than this." Meanwhile, GM Boris Avrukh's verdict was simple: "Lars, I want to play your book."

Now Schandorff switches sides and offers a top-class Semi-Slav repertoire against 1.d4. The Semi-Slav strikes the perfect balance of ambition and soundness, which has made it popular at every level up to and including the world championship. Black needs to know his stuff, but Schandorff is the ideal guide to make the learning process a pleasure.