Questions tagged [queens-gambit-declined]

The Queen's Gambit Declined, often abbreviated to QGD, is a chess opening characterised by 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6

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Sharp lines in the QGD, for black?

As a 1.e4 player who deeply enjoys sharp lines and studying/memorizing openings, I have always struggled with responding to 1.d4 since it leads to slow positional lines which usually have multiple ...
0 votes
1 answer
134 views

After 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3, what are the differences between 2...e6 and 2...Nf6?

Black plays 2...e6 8% of the time, 2...Nf6 77% of time. It seems that by playing 2...Nf6, Black keeps open the option of playing ...Bg4 and ...Bf5 (which would be the Slav if White plays c4 and Black ...
9 votes
3 answers
531 views

How do I play against the Queen's Gambit Declined Tartakower structure?

I play the Exchange Variation against the QGD, but I'm really struggling against the Tartakower style setup in the QGD, when black plays b6 and c5. As White, I just don't really know what I'm supposed ...
0 votes
2 answers
110 views

What are some decent books for explaining the positional ideas of the 4...Nxd5 line of the QGD from black's perspective?

Specifically, this line. [fen ""] [Startply "8"] 1.d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5
0 votes
1 answer
217 views

Chebanenko Slav vs Queen's Gambit Declined?

I am around 1400 ELO (on chess dot com) and mostly play daily chess. I like solid positions where I get to a roughly even middle game without a lot of blazing tactics. Right now, I am learning the ...
1 vote
1 answer
114 views

In the 5.e3 Semi-Slav, why is the move ...Be7 bad?

I don't know anything about the Semi-Slav. The 5.e3 Semi-Slav with ...Be7 looks like the QGD with ...Be7, except that Black has lost a tempo playing the move ...c6 (Black will play ...c5 in two moves ...
6 votes
2 answers
761 views

QGD is 3... Be7 better than 3...Nf6

3...Be7 a.k.a the Alatortsev Variation is a possible response as black for QGD players When I checked with the database 3...Nf6 is the most played move instead of 3...Be7. When black plays Nf6 they ...
1 vote
1 answer
163 views

How good is this unnamed White opening system? d4, Nf3, e3, c4, Nc3 (in some order)

White is playing a QGD Tarrasch with colors reversed. It's a bit like the Colle except that White plays a little bit more ambitiously, by moving his c-Pawn to c4 rather than to c3, and by developing ...
5 votes
3 answers
340 views

How to avoid QGD/Slav lines as black against 1.d4?

I have come to be a bit sick of Queen's Gambit Declined/Slav Defense type positions as black. But I struggle to find anything to play against 1.d4 which doesn't soon transpose into that. It seems ...
5 votes
1 answer
115 views

what are some good resources for QGD exchanged where black plays Nh5 and later Nb6 Be6 and 0-0-0

Here is a different approach of playing the QGD as black. A general idea after Qxe7 is to play Nb6, Be6 followed by 0-0-0. I don't know if this variation has a name but Nh5 seems to be popular and has ...
3 votes
2 answers
608 views

In the Queen's Gambit Declined, why is 5.e3 so much more popular than 5.Nf3 after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7?

To me it seems that both moves transpose into each other in almost all lines, so why is e3 so much more popular? Some statistics from the lichess masters database: e3: 3,289 games (72.5%) Nf3: 877 ...
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

What's the best answer to 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.a3?

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.a3, what is the best reply? Assuming that I, as Black, am a Nimzo-Indian Player, there is no hope for a Nimzo now. Would you go for 3...d5 (QGD with no particularly useful a3 ...
5 votes
3 answers
715 views

Is Sadler's 2000 book Queen's Gambit Declined focused on white or black?

I'm looking for QGD repertoire book as Black. Would Sadler's Queen's Gambit Declined fulfill this, or is it focused on White?
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why doesn't Black develop the light-square bishop after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3?

After 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Stockfish gives the best move as 2...e6, entering a QGD position. Why does Black voluntarily block the LSB instead of develop it first with 2...Bf5?
3 votes
1 answer
208 views

Most Gambits Declined in a Single Game

Bit of an odd question that has arisen from a game that I played today. In the game it started of with the Queens Gambit (which appear to be the flavour of the month due to Netflix). I usually dont ...
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why shouldn't I play c5 in Queen's Gambit Declined as white?

My favorite opening is the Queen's Gambit Declined, and I will often reach positions like this [FEN ""] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 c6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bd2 O-O 7. c5 Where I decide to ...
10 votes
1 answer
360 views

Why is ...a6 played in the Exchange Slav?

[fen ""] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. e3 a6 I do not see the point of this move. At first I thought it is aimed to prevent Bb5 and thus maintain the knight on c6, ...
1 vote
3 answers
385 views

How should I play as White if Black Defends the Tartakover QGD without ...h6?

This question is related to another I just posted, but it is actually a different question: if Black Defends the Tartakower QGD without an early ...h6, and I am an Anti-Tartakower–Makogonov–...
3 votes
1 answer
378 views

Why 5...h6 in the Tartakower Queen's Gambit Declined and not in the Orthodox Variation?

Why is the Tartakower Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined almost always predeced by 5...h6, while in the Orthodox defense an early ...h6 is almost never played by Black?
1 vote
3 answers
455 views

Is 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 called Queen's Gambit Declined when there is no gambit offered, let alone declined?

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 ...
3 votes
2 answers
532 views

Confused about timing of cxd5 and dxc4 in the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD)

Recently I've been playing the Queen's Gambit Declined as my primary response to a d4 opening by white. While analyzing past games with engines, I've realized that as the game progresses, there's a ...
5 votes
2 answers
564 views

Why not 7.Qa4+ in Carlsen vs Navara QGD

In the game of Carlsen vs Navara Biel Chess 2018, on move 7 why did Carlsen play e3 instead of playing Qa4+ and taking that hanging bishop?
0 votes
2 answers
360 views

Queen's gambit declined: is it too late to counter-offer my c pawn if white pins my f-knight? Will this overload my f bishop?

In the traditional queen's gambit, white offers their c pawn to the e5 pawn, threatening to take back with their f bishop and enjoying a central pawn advantage. My response is to play symmetrically, ...
8 votes
2 answers
355 views

Is this the only opening that allows one side to end up with three knights?

In Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin counter-gambit, Lasker trap, black ended up with three knights, which should be rare. Here white should not capture the additional knight in the next move (8. Rxg1 ...
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

How does Alphazero Respond to the QGD?

I recently started reading Game Changer, the new(ish) book on Alphazero, and I'm really enjoying it. My one issue so far is that I can't find, in the book or elsewhere, games where Alphazero played ...
4 votes
1 answer
584 views

Who revitalized 5. Bf4 vs the Queen's Gambit Declined?

It seems to me that after the popular move order [fen ""] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 the most popular option - at least at top GM level - is currently 5. Bf4. Yet, back in the 1980s ...
5 votes
1 answer
177 views

Why is 7 Bd3 in the Cambridge Springs QGD more often met with 7...Ne4 than 7...dxc4?

My question relates the Cambridge Springs QGD when Black deviates from the main line by playing the well-known inaccuracy 7 Bd3. [FEN "..."] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 c6 6. ...
1 vote
1 answer
591 views

What’s the point of early ...a6 move in Queen’s Gambit Declined?

As title above, what is the point or the main idea of a very early ...a6 Pawn move in Queen’s Gambit Declined? I see that the move is fairly popular at GM and even top level.
7 votes
2 answers
329 views

What is the purpose of 12.a3 in the QGD Lasker Defence?

this is about queen gambit declined lasker defence : [fen ""] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 h6 7. Bh4 Ne4 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Rc1 Nxc3 10. Rxc3 c6 11. Qc2 Nd7 12. a3 why or ...
3 votes
1 answer
988 views

Is the queens gambit declined getting more popular than the slav?

Back when I used to study chess, like 10 years ago or so, all the text books and all the super GMs recommended either the slav or the semi slav against queens gambit, they said it's better than the ...
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

What do advocates of the QGD exchange variation (from the white side) recommend against alternative move orders?

I've recently started to become interested in the exchange Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD) from the white side: [fen ""] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Thematically speaking it's very ...
1 vote
2 answers
244 views

Why play 7... Nxd5 instead of 7... exd5 in the QGD?

I'm currently following the rapid game Caruana-Nakamura in the London Chess Classic, and I have a basic question about the opening moves. Why play 7... Nxd5 instead of 7... exd5? Is the idea to trade ...
7 votes
1 answer
357 views

Why did Carlsen play 7. dxc5 in Game 7 of the 2018 World Championship?

As a class A player, I have some understanding of opening principles. Relevant to the move played in the game, I know that it's advantageous to control the center, to have central pawns controlling ...
2 votes
2 answers
323 views

What are some good attacking games from the black side of the Queen's Gambit Declined (Exchange variation)?

I read both of the answers to this question, and although one answer hints that black can launch a kingside attack in the Exchange variation, it offers no games demonstrating such a kingside attack. ...
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

Karpov's Queen's Gambit beats Kasparov. What is Karpov thinking?

A lifelong 1.e4 player switching to 1.d4, naïvely, I see little White can do to stop Black from achieving what seems to be an excellent position. For example, from Karpov v. Kasparov, World ...
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

Plan against QGD Janowski variation (3...a6)

This is the so called Janowski variation of the QGD is the following [FEN ""] [StartPly "6"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 a6 It's quite rare, even if sometimes played at top level. White usually ...
11 votes
4 answers
2k views

What is the disadvantage of the move 3. ..h6 in the Queen's Gambit Declined?

One of my opponents keep playing 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6!? against me. Thus avoiding the main lines of the Queen's Gambit Declined that start after the normal 3) ..Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nc3 etc. Is ...
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

.. c5 in Queens Gambit Declined

I've been playing c5 as black in Queens Gambit Declined lately. i.e. [FEN ""] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 c5 I just want to know, how bad an idea it is to play in this way? I saw someone ...
4 votes
1 answer
705 views

Is there any way to gain equality with the QGD Marshall Defence?

The Marshall defence goes 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6?! I played this game recently as white. It was the first time I saw the Marshall in a game and the real contest was over by move 14. [FEN ""] [StartPly "...
8 votes
4 answers
4k views

Queens Gambit Declined vs Slav: Exchange Variations

I am a keen player of d4 as white. One of the things that I often read is that the exchange variation of the Queens Gambit Declined is generally considered good for white: [fen ""] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 ...