Learn the Queen's Gambit Declined

D30-D69 · a repertoire for black · 3 chapters · 49 annotated lines

"The classical fortress that never goes out of style"

The Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6) is the most trusted reply to 1.d4 in chess history — the choice of world champions from Lasker to Carlsen. Instead of grabbing the c4 pawn, Black simply keeps a pawn on d5 and builds the sturdiest structure in chess: ...Nf6, ...Be7, ...O-O, and the center holds no matter what White throws at it. This course gives you a complete club repertoire built around the Tartakower Variation — the flexible ...h6, ...b6 and ...Bb7 system — plus the classical recipes against the Exchange Variation's minority attack AND its modern Nge2/f3 center-push cousin, the trendy Bf4 lines, the Catalan (main line and both sidelines), the Torre Attack, the Levitsky 2.Bg5, and the quiet e3 and Colle setups. Every line follows the same three-beat rhythm: develop behind the d5 pawn, castle, then free your game with the thematic breaks ...c5 or ...e5. Learn the rhythm once and you have an answer to 1.d4 for the rest of your chess life.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Main Line — 4.Bg5 and the Tartakower
  Lines: The Tartakower: 7...b6 Main Line, 7.Bxf6 — The Trade You Should Welcome, 8.Bd3 — Win the Tempo Battle, The Tartakower Tabiya: 8.Be2 and the Minority Attack, 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Rc1 — Keep the Knights On, 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Qb3 — Meet the Queen Sortie, 8.Rc1 — The Rook Move Order, 11.Rc1 Be6 12.Be2 — The Quiet Development, 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.cxd5 — The Bishop-Pair Structure, 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.Qb3 — The Early Queen, 11.Bd3 — Develop and Break, 11.Be2 — The Solid Setup, 12.Qa4 c5 13.dxc5 — The Symmetrical Endgame, 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.Qc2 — The Tartakower Fianchetto Answer, 8.Be2 Bb7 9.cxd5 — Simplify and Break
• Chapter 2: The Exchange Variation & 5.Bf4
  Lines: Exchange Variation: The Classical Wall, 5.Bf4 — Counter with 6...c5!, Exchange with Bf4: Trade It Off, Exchange with Nge2 & f3: Meet the Center Plan, 5.Bf4: Punish 7.a3 with ...cxd4, 5.Bf4: Holding the Isolani after 7.dxc5 and 8.cxd5, Exchange with Bf4: When White Ducks the Trade, 5.Bf4: Blockade the Isolani after 7.Be2, 5.Bf4: The 9.Rd1 Line and the ...Ne4 Jump
• Chapter 3: The Catalan & Quiet Systems
  Lines: The Open Catalan: 6...dxc4 and ...b5, The Colle: Strike Back with ...c5, The Torre Attack: 3.Bg5 Ne4!, The Slow 4.e3: Free Development, Catalan 7.Ne5: Calm Amid the Tactics, Catalan 8.a4: The ...Bd7-c6 Regroup, The Levitsky 2.Bg5: ...Qb6 and the ...Bf5 Setup, Catalan 8.Bd2: Grab and Hold with ...b5, Catalan 7.Na3: The ...Bd7-c6 Solution, The Torre 4.Bh4: Same Plan, Same Result, The London 3.Bf4: Anti-London Machinery, The Colle-Zukertort: Break Free with ...e5, The Torre 6.Nbd2: Trade the Intruder, Catalan Main Line: 10.Bf4 and the ...Nb4 Hit, Catalan Main Line: 10.Bd2 and ...Be4, The Colle 8.e4: Meet the Break with ...cxd4 and ...e5, Catalan 8.Bg5: Hold the Pawn with ...b5, Catalan Main Line: 9.Qb3 and the ...Nd5 Outpost, The Colle 6.O-O: Transpose, Then Break with ...e5, The 2.Nf3 Move Order: 4.Nc3 Transposes

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. d4 — 1.d4 — White claims the center from the queenside.
• 1... d5 — Meet the center head-on. Black plants a pawn on d5 and intends to keep it there — the whole opening revolves around this little strongpoint.
• 2. c4 — The Queen's Gambit — White offers a wing pawn to deflect the d5 pawn.
• 2... e6 — Decline it! 2...e6 backs up d5 with a second pawn and opens the diagonal for the f8 bishop. Yes, the c8 bishop is temporarily shut in — solving that is exactly what the Tartakower system is for, a few moves from now.
• 3. Nc3 — White develops and adds a second attacker on d5.
• 3... Nf6 — Develop and defend d5 in the same breath. Black's first four moves are almost always the same in the QGD: ...d5, ...e6, ...Nf6, ...Be7 — a setup you can play with your eyes closed.
• 4. Bg5 — The classical main line: White pins the knight to pressure d5 indirectly.
• 4... Be7 — Break the pin immediately. The bishop was headed to e7 anyway — it guards the kingside, unpins the knight, and prepares castling. Never leave a knight pinned against your queen longer than you must.
• 5. e3 — White reinforces d4 and opens the f1 bishop's diagonal.
• 5... O-O — Castle. King safety first — every plan in the QGD starts from a castled king, and Black has nothing to fear on the kingside with the e7 bishop standing guard.
• 6. Nf3 — White completes kingside development.
• 6... h6 — The key little move. Black puts the question to the bishop before committing to a plan: it gains the h7 square for the king, rules out sacrifices on h7 forever, and — most importantly — sets up the Tartakower idea on the next move.
• 7. Bh4 — White keeps the pin rather than trade.
• 7... b6 — The Tartakower Variation! Black's one 'bad' piece is the c8 bishop, stuck behind the e6 pawn — so give it the long diagonal with ...Bb7. This single idea has kept the QGD healthy for a hundred years: once that bishop breathes, Black has no problems at all.
• 8. cxd5 — The main try: White resolves the center immediately, hoping to prove ...b6 loosened the queenside.
• 8... Nxd5 — Recapture with the knight — the point of the move order. Taking with the pawn would block the b7 bishop's diagonal; the knight recapture offers a simplifying trade on c3 and unblocks everything. Fewer pieces, freer game: exactly what the defender wants.
• 9. Bxe7 — White trades bishops before the knight takes on c3.
• 9... Qxe7 — Recapture with the queen, which sits actively on e7 watching both wings. Notice the trend: every trade eases Black's slightly cramped game. White's opening advantage is evaporating piece by piece.
• 10. Nxd5 — White trades again, banking on the half-open c-file and the minority attack — with only two queenside pawns against Black's three, White's plan is b4-b5 to chip at c7.
• 10... exd5 — Recapture toward the center. The e6 pawn's job is done, and the new d5 pawn controls c4 and e4. Now the c8 bishop has a clear road to e6, and the freeing break ...c5 is ready — Black's position plays itself from here.
• 11. Rc1 — White grabs the half-open c-file, eyeing the c7 pawn.
• 11... Be6 — Develop the bishop to its best post: on e6 it backs up d5 and keeps an eye on the queenside. The 'problem bishop' is a problem no more — and c7 is about to stop being a target too.
• 12. Qa4 — White probes the queenside, hitting a7 and preparing to pile on the c-file.
• 12... c5 — The great freeing break, right on schedule. The backward c-pawn strides forward, challenges d4, and turns the c-file from White's asset into a fully shared one. In the QGD, ...c5 is the move Black is always working toward — play it and breathe out.
• 13. Qa3 — White leans on the c5 pawn, hoping to provoke a concession.
• 13... Rc8 — Defend c5 laterally and complete development. Count the position: every Black piece is active, the pawn structure is symmetrical and sound, and dxc5 bxc5 would only strengthen Black's center. This is textbook equality — the Tartakower doing what it has done since 1922.

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