Chess Drills
Queen's Gambit Declined: solid plans and a trap to use
In the Queen's Gambit Declined, White offers a pawn on c4 and you don't take it. Instead you support your pawn on d5 with the pawn move 2...e6. Your centre stays firm, your dark-squared bishop (the one on f8) can come out to e7 or b4, and you castle quickly.
The price is your light-squared bishop (the one on c8). It is shut in behind your pawn on e6. Much of your play is about freeing that bishop: on b7 after the pawn goes to b6, or by opening the position with the pawn push ...c5. This guide is for Black; for White's side, see the Queen's Gambit guide.
Good fit for: Players who want a reliable, classical defence to 1.d4 and don't mind defending a slightly passive position before striking back.
Drill these 5 lines with spaced repetition: a few minutes a day, and the moves stick.
Key ideas
- Hold the pawn on d5. Your pawn on d5 is the backbone of your position. Keep it supported with the pawn on e6, the knight on f6, and often the pawn on c6 or the other knight on d7.
- Free the bishop on c8. This is your problem piece. Plan to bring it out on b7 after you push the b-pawn to b6, or open its diagonal by taking on c4 and pushing ...c5 at the right moment.
- Strike back with a pawn break. You are solid, but you need counterplay. Pushing the c-pawn to c5 or the e-pawn to e5 challenges White's centre and gives your pieces more room.
- Trade pieces to get more room. You have a little less space, so swapping pieces usually helps you. The pawn move to h6 asks White's bishop on g5 to decide, and a knight jump to e4 can trade a pair of pieces.
The main lines
Main line: castle, then the bishop goes to b7
White's bishop on g5 pins your knight on f6 (a pin: the knight can't move without exposing a more valuable piece, here your queen). You put your bishop on e7 so the pin no longer hurts, castle, and push the pawn to h6. After the bishop goes back to h4, you push the b-pawn to b6.
- Your plan: bishop to b7, which solves your problem bishop, then the pawn push ...c5 to challenge White's centre.
- Why h6? It asks White's bishop to decide: retreat or take your knight.
- Good to know: this is one of the most respected setups for Black at every level.
Exchange line: White swaps pawns on d5
White takes on d5 early and you take back with the e-pawn. That fixes the pawn structure. Both sides develop, and your rook goes to e8 on the half-open e-file (there is no black pawn on it any more).
- Your plan: knight from d7 to f8, then look for play on the kingside with a knight jump to e4 or the bishop to d6.
- Good to know: try to trade your light-squared bishop with the bishop to g4 or f5 when you can.
- Watch out: White's typical plan is the minority attack: pushing the b-pawn to b4 and b5 to weaken your queenside pawns.
Bishop to f4: hit back in the centre at once
White puts the bishop on f4 instead of g5. You castle and strike in the centre straight away with the pawn push ...c5. After the pawns are swapped, your bishop takes back on c5 and is very active.
- Your plan: knight to c6, then take on c4 or bring your queen to a5.
- Watch out: the position opens up. In some lines you play with an isolated d-pawn (a pawn with no pawns of your own on the files next to it), so get used to that kind of position.
Ragozin: your bishop pins the knight on c3
Instead of the bishop to e7, your bishop goes to b4 and pins White's knight on c3. This mixes the Queen's Gambit Declined with the Nimzo-Indian. After the pawns are swapped on d5, White pins your knight with the bishop on g5, and you push the pawn to h6.
- Your plan: get your pieces active. Later you can give up your bishop for the knight on c3.
- Good to know: more dynamic than the main line, but you need to know the moves more exactly.
Against the Catalan: take the pawn on c4
White plays a fianchetto (bishop on the long diagonal after g3), and the bishop on g2 aims at your queenside. You develop, castle, and then take the pawn on c4. Next you push the a-pawn to a6.
- Why a6? It prepares the push ...b5, to hold the extra pawn or to gain space.
- Your plan: bishop to b7 and the pawn push ...c5 to free your position.
- Watch out: White will try to win the pawn back, with the queen taking on c4 or with the pawn push a4.
Traps and mistakes to avoid
The Elephant Trap: the pawn on d5 isn't really pinned
After your knight goes to d7, the pawn on d5 looks like an easy target: if your knight on f6 moves away, White's bishop takes your queen. If White grabs the pawn with the knight anyway, take the knight with your knight. White takes your queen, but then your bishop gives check on b4, and the only way out is to put White's queen on d2. You take that queen with check, then take White's bishop with your king. You have won a piece for a pawn.
Questions
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined too passive?
You get a little less space at first, but your position is very hard to break down. Once your bishop is on b7, or after a well-timed push to c5, your pieces become fully active. It has been a main line at the top level for well over a century.
Queen's Gambit Declined or Slav?
Both defend d5 with a pawn. Here your bishop on c8 is shut in by the pawn on e6, but your kingside pieces come out quickly. In the Slav the bishop gets out first, but your queenside pieces come out more slowly. Pick the one whose problems you'd rather solve.
What should I learn first?
Start with the main line against the bishop on g5 and the Exchange line, which you'll meet very often at club level. Then add the bishop to f4 line and a plan against the Catalan.
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