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What's the best answer to 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.a3?
This really comes down to what you're comfortable with. Both the Benoni and the QGD are good options, precisely because of the reason you mention: a3 isn't really useful for White in those openings, ...
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Is 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 called Queen's Gambit Declined when there is no gambit offered, let alone declined?
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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Is Sadler's 2000 book Queen's Gambit Declined focused on white or black?
I got pointed to this topic by a friendly chatter at the TCEC. In principle, Brian is absolutely right - an opening book 20 years old is really going to be missing some stuff and certainly won't give ...
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Most Gambits Declined in a Single Game
I have a sequence of four gambits. Starting with Bird's Opening: 1. f4:
1... e5 offers the From's Gambit
2. e4 offers the King's Gambit
2... d5 offers the Falkbeer Counter-gambit
3. d4 offers the ...
- 1,969
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Why did Carlsen play 7. dxc5 in Game 7 of the 2018 World Championship?
The same move order also occurred in game 2 (at least up to 9...Qa5). It's a good question that you're asking, though I'm afraid there's no intuitive answer in the way that you're looking for. Instead,...
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Is the queens gambit declined getting more popular than the slav?
It seems to be that the QGD is regaining some popularity at the top level due to theory advancing. I don't think that says anything about the overall popularity of the two openings though (i.e., ...
- 19.8k
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How to avoid QGD/Slav lines as black against 1.d4?
The King's Indian Defence is the first thing that comes to my mind. You'll have to like the pawn structures that arise from e.g. the Main line, with White trying to break through on the queenside ...
- 24.8k
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Why doesn't Black develop the light-square bishop after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3?
The absence of the bishop causes black problems. The weakening of b7 and the a4-e8 diagonal will often create more difficulties than the freedom of the bishop is worth.
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How does Alphazero Respond to the QGD?
There were a select of games published played between AlphaZero and Stockfish 8, see e.g. here on chess24. Some of them were played without book and some with the TCEC opening book, which I reckon led ...
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Why is 7 Bd3 in the Cambridge Springs QGD more often met with 7...Ne4 than 7...dxc4?
7...dxc4 is absolutely just as good as 7...Ne4. Stockfish 10 (at depth 32) gives 7...dxc4 an evaluation of -0.31, while 7...Ne4 is 0.23. A difference of 118 games vs 96 games isn't a big deal and has ...
- 19.8k
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Karpov's Queen's Gambit beats Kasparov. What is Karpov thinking?
The position after move 9 is the main tabya of the Tarrasch defense. Your feeling that Black is better, or even that he has egalized, is imprecise : White has no weakness, active pieces, and Black's ...
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Karpov's Queen's Gambit beats Kasparov. What is Karpov thinking?
Welcome to the world of the Isolated Queen Pawn (IQP for shorts)! This is a special type of position which can be reached from quite a few openings (also with reversed colours); the Tarrasch variation ...
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Why is ...a6 played in the Exchange Slav?
It prevents Nb5-c7. That's the main point behind the move. Just take a look at the disaster a careless move like 6...g6? could lead to.
6...a6 is not the only option, though. Black can try for ...
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Why doesn't Black develop the light-square bishop after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3?
First of all, don't attribute too much weight to engine evaluations that early in the game. Rather look at the established theory, and what you want to achieve.
For example, after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3, I ...
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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?
As the other answer points out 5. e3 is more flexible but there is a very concrete reason too; After 5. Nf3, Black can play h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e3 c5 and now we are heading to an isolani type of ...
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QGD is 3... Be7 better than 3...Nf6
3...Be7 is not stronger than 3...Nf6, nor vice versa. Both moves have their up and downsides. As you correctly stated in your question 3...Be7 works well against the popular variation 3...Nf6 4.cxd5 ...
- 549
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Plan against QGD Janowski variation (3...a6)
Indeed, the line is relatively rare, but the move 3....a6 seems to become more and more popular the last couple of years. Even Magnus Carlsen has played it twice in blitz recently, against Aronian and ...
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How should I play as White if Black Defends the Tartakover QGD without ...h6?
Be careful that you don't end up a tempo down in a known line, otherwise it is good to keep all your options open. h6 can benefit Black in giving luft to a castled king but overall it is a slight ...
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How should I play as White if Black Defends the Tartakover QGD without ...h6?
It depends on your own tastes, but I'd recommend not taking. Taking after ...h6 is justified because it essentially costs Black a tempo (i.e., playing ...h6). If you take without provocation then no ...
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What’s the point of early ...a6 move in Queen’s Gambit Declined?
It is hard to tell exactly without an exact line, but normally it has the idea of following with ...dxc4 (putting the enemy bishop on the c4 square), ...b5 (now kicking it away) and ...Bb7.
This ...
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Why not 7.Qa4+ in Carlsen vs Navara QGD
I guess you mean the game below and at the 7th-move: 7.Qa4+ doesn't win the bishop because black can reply with Nc6 blocking the check and defending the bishop.
[title "Biel, Carlsen vs Navara 2018"]...
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Confused about timing of cxd5 and dxc4 in the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD)
In the various standard variations of QGD, the answers to this question are somewhat different, but you should keep in mind Black's main goals. Black's main problem is that they don't have enough ...
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Why shouldn't I play c5 in Queen's Gambit Declined as white?
In most cases White doesn't want to play c5 in such positions because it takes the pressure of the black center. Yes, it cramps the black queen side a bit but it allows Black to play e5 at some point ...
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How to avoid QGD/Slav lines as black against 1.d4?
A few choices where White will have it hard to get into a QGD-like position:
King's Indian: probably the "obvious" choice.
Queen's Gambit Accepted: use the time your opponent loses ...
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Confused about timing of cxd5 and dxc4 in the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD)
In the game you linked, after 7 Bg2, 7... dc is almost a free pawn. (In particular, while white can always take the pawn back in QGA or open Catalan, they can't do so nearly as easily in this ...
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Why not 7.Qa4+ in Carlsen vs Navara QGD
I think this is the game you mean, and it was on move 7. Qa4+, and Nc6 saves the bishop. Qa4 is a well-known line, and the second most popular move after 7. e3.
This is a black defense to the QGD ...
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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?
There are a lot of different defenses to the Queen's Gambit Declined, but in most of them, you do not need to worry too much about white trying to take on c5, and holding it since it is very difficult ...
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Is this the only opening that allows one side to end up with three knights?
As @JossieCalderon pointed out, any opening could end up with three knights for one side. This would always require a knight promotion of some sort. Usually, knight promotions occur to
Give check to ...
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Why 5...h6 in the Tartakower Queen's Gambit Declined and not in the Orthodox Variation?
2 main reasons:
The orthodox defense typically goes for a ...c6 structure and avoids ...b6 + ...c5. This makes Bxf6 a more viable option for White due to the more closed nature of the game. So, ...h6 ...
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