Queen's Gambit
1.d4 d5 2.c4
Play Through the Opening
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Moves
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- 5.
Move 10 of 10
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 (Queen's Gambit Declined) 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O (QGD main line) or 2...c6 (Slav) or 2...dxc4 (Accepted)
Core Ideas
Queen's Gambit offers c-pawn to draw Black's d-pawn from center, then rebuilds center with e4. Ironically, this "gambit" is not really a sacrifice, Black almost always returns the pawn. Most ambitious opening against 1.d4, used by Capablanca, Botvinnik, Kramnik, Anand. Netflix series 'The Queen's Gambit' brought variation names to general audience awareness.
Plan for White
Build pawn triangle in center (c4-d4-e3). Activate bishop on g5 to pressure knight on f6. Long-term: minority attack on queenside (b4-b5) or kingside expansion.
Plan for Black
QGD (2...e6): solid structure, activate pieces gradually. Slav (2...c6): support d5 with c6 pawn without locking bishop. Accepted (2...dxc4): return pawn for activity, transform structure to IQP-like.
Grandmaster Tier Context
T2 Club through T5 Master. Queen's Gambit is the entry point to closed positional chess. Grandmaster coaches sometimes recommend starting Queen's Gambit at T2 for players who don't fit blitz open games like Italian.