Queen's Gambit Declined

In the Queen's Gambit Declined, 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6, Black holds the centre with pawns on d5 and e6 and develops calmly: ...Nf6, ...Be7, ...O-O and often ...c6 and ...Nbd7. White develops the queen's bishop to g5 or f4, plays e3 and Nf3, and tries to make something of the slight space advantage. The play is slow, which is why the most common mistakes are pieces left loose rather than complex tactics.

The d5 square is the clearest example. With the black knight on f6 and the pawn on e6 defending d5, taking on d5 with the knight almost never wins a pawn. After 1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bf4 Nbd7 6.e3 O-O, the capture 7.Nxd5?? simply loses a knight to 7...exd5. The same happens after 5.Bf4 b6 6.Nxd5?? exd5. The Elephant Trap, with the bishop on g5 and the knight on d7, is the famous version where taking on d5 loses even with a pin, and it has its own page.

The bishop on g5 is the second theme. In the Exchange Variation, after 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.e3 h6, White continues developing with 8.Bd3?? and forgets the bishop: 8...hxg5 wins it.

The Slav-style lines with ...Bf5 have their own tactics. After 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bf5 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Qb3, defending b7 with 6...b6? allows 7.e4!, opening the centre while Black's pieces are still at home. And in the Queen's Gambit Accepted, after 2...dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.a4 Bb4, the push 6.e4? loses a pawn to 6...Nxe4, because the knight on c3 is pinned.

The Queen's Gambit Declined and Queen's Gambit Accepted studies cover the main lines. The puzzles below come from these real positions, for both colours.