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I understand that the opening 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 is called Queen's Gambit Declined. But how about 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5? There is no gambit offered, let alone declined. Is it still called Queen's gambit declined?

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  • In either variation, it's still not a true gambit.
    – Mike Jones
    May 9, 2020 at 16:32
  • @MikeJones, well, in the order 1. d4 d5, 2. c4. Black has the option to accept the gambit, though the choice may not be the best one.
    – Zuriel
    May 9, 2020 at 19:07
  • The Queen's Gambit isn't a true gambit as black can't keep the pawn. Other gambits trade the gambit pawn for another advantage.
    – Mike Jones
    May 10, 2020 at 1:36

3 Answers 3

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They reach the same position, so they have the same name. It wouldn't make sense to call the same position differently depending on the moves that lead to it. 1.f4 e5 2.e4 is a King's gambit, not a declined From's gambit. 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 is a Tarrasch Defence despite having started as a Caro-Kann

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Yes, it is still called the Queen's Gambit Declined. That's just the name of the system, regardless of the move order used to reach it. However, it is not the QGD before Black chooses to push 3...d5.

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This is a transposition, you have to think about the pawn structure instead on focusing on the concrete order, there are thousands of different ways of getting to the same (or quite similar) positions

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