Learn the Queen's Gambit Accepted

D20-D29 · a repertoire for black · 7 chapters · 46 annotated lines

"Take the pawn, hand it back, and equalize with ease"

The Queen's Gambit Accepted is the most honest answer to 1.d4: 2...dxc4 takes a pawn off White's center, and in return Black gets what the queen's-pawn player fears most — free, active, equal development. The secret is a bargain almost nobody at the club level understands: you do NOT try to keep the pawn. You hand it back a move or two later, on your terms, and cash in with a timely ...c5 or ...e5 break and a beautifully-developed light-squared bishop. No memorized traps, no theoretical minefields — just a handful of clear plans that give Black a full, fair share of the board. Every line in this course is engine-checked and every Black idea explained.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Classical Main Line
  Lines: The Symmetrical Ending — 7.dxc5, The Flexible ...Be7 — 7.a4, The ...a6, ...b5, ...Bb7 Plan — 7.Qe2
• Chapter 2: The Central 3.e4
  Lines: 3.e4 e5! — The Central Strike, The Queen Trade — 5.Qxd4, The Space Grab — 4.d5, The Loose 4.Bxc4 — Grab the d-pawn, The Delayed Grab — 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e4?!, The Knight Recapture — 5.Nxd4, The Pin 7.Bb5 — Break It with ...Bc5
• Chapter 3: The Qa4+ Pawn-Regain Lines
  Lines: The Nagging Check — 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qa4+, The Immediate Check — 3.Qa4+, Both Knights Out — 6.Nc3 and the Fianchetto, The Second Grab — 6.Qb3
• Chapter 4: Quiet & Minor Tries
  Lines: The Modest 3.e3 — Strike with 3...e5!, 3.Nc3 — Meet It with 3...Nf6 and ...e5, 3.e3 e5 4.dxe5?! — The Same Greedy Mistake, 3.Nc3 with 6.Qxd4 — Win the Ending, The Fianchetto Try — 4.g3
• Chapter 5: Classical — The Seventh-Move Tour
  Lines: The Prophylactic 7.Bb3, The Retreat 7.Bd3 — Take the Isolani, The Big Push 7.e4, The Quiet 7.b3
• Chapter 6: Early Deviations — The Furman & Friends
  Lines: The Furman Variation — 6.Qe2, The Early Release — 6.dxc5, 6.Nc3 — ...b5 Anyway, and the a4 Punishment, The Sixth-Move Clamp — 6.a4, The d5 Lunge — Meet the Break with Trades
• Chapter 7: The Ambitious 4.Nc3
  Lines: The Main Line — 5.e4 b5 6.e5 Nd5, The Restrained 5.a4, The 2.Nf3 Move Order & the 7.Ng5 Lunge, The Retreat to Sanity — 5.e3, Trading Into Trouble — 7.Nxd5

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. d4 — The queen's pawn — White claims the center.
• 1... d5 — Meet the queen's pawn head-on. The whole Queen's Gambit Accepted rests on this: Black takes a full, classical share of the center before White can build a broad pawn front.
• 2. c4 — The Queen's Gambit: White offers the c-pawn to deflect Black's d5.
• 2... dxc4 — Accept the gambit. You are NOT trying to keep this pawn — you are pulling a pawn off White's center and, in exchange for a tempo or two, you get free, harmonious development and a timely ...c5 or ...e5 break. Hand the pawn back when the moment is right; never cling to it.
• 3. Nf3 — White develops and eyes e5 and d4.
• 3... Nf6 — Develop and control e4 — the central square White most wants for a pawn. Flexible and principled: the knight belongs here in almost every QGA line.
• 4. e3 — Solid: White opens the bishop's path to c4 to regain the pawn.
• 4... e6 — Open the diagonal for the f8-bishop and prepare the freeing ...c5 break. Modest but exact — Black keeps the structure sound and readies the counter-punch in the center.
• 5. Bxc4 — White regains the gambit pawn, right on schedule.
• 5... c5 — The thematic break, and the move that justifies the entire system. Black strikes at d4, opens lines for every piece, and challenges White's grip on the center. Once ...c5 lands, the QGA player has nothing left to fear.
• 6. O-O — White castles.
• 6... a6 — The key move that launches Black's main plan. ...a6 prepares ...b5 to gain queenside space and fianchetto the c8-bishop to b7, and it takes the b5-square away from White's pieces. Useful in every classical QGA.
• 7. dxc5 — White releases the central tension and heads for an ending.
• 7... Qxd1 — Trade queens gladly. Off come the queens, and with them any dream White had of an attack — you are heading for a dead-level endgame where the activity is all yours.
• 8. Rxd1 — White recaptures.
• 8... Bxc5 — Recapture the pawn with the bishop, which lands on its best diagonal eyeing f2 and the center. Material is level, queens are gone, and Black is at least equal — a textbook comfortable QGA endgame.
• 9. Nbd2 — White develops toward c4 and b3.
• 9... Nbd7 — Complete development toward the center. The knight heads for b6 or e5, the king will tuck away, and Black has a pleasant, risk-free game.
• 10. b3 — White prepares to fianchetto the queen's bishop.
• 10... O-O — Castle into safety. Nothing to prove, nothing to fear: level structure, active pieces, easy equality. This is the QGA promise delivered.

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