Queen's Gambit Accepted
2...dxc4
10 lines
Queen's Gambit for White
For White1.d4 d5 2.c4
30 lines
Queen's Gambit for White: the pawn on c4 challenges the central pawn on d5, and if Black takes it, keeping the pawn is hard. The Queen's Gambit Accepted and Declined, the Slav and Semi-Slav Defenses, the Marshall Defense, master lines and traps for Black.
Variations
Each card holds all the lines of one variation.
Queen's Gambit Declined
2...e6
4 lines
Semi-Slav Defense
4...e6
5 lines
Marshall Defense
2...Nf6
3 lines
Slav Defense
2...c6
8 lines
The idea of the opening
The Queen's Gambit starts with 1.d4 d5 2.c4. It is one of the oldest openings: the pawn on c4 challenges the central pawn on d5. It's a gambit only in name: if Black takes on c4, the pawn is hard to keep, and meanwhile White takes the center and develops the pieces.
The lines cover the four replies amateurs play most often. The capture 2...dxc4 is the Queen's Gambit Accepted; in games rated under 1500, it's the most common reply. The pawn move 2...e6 supports d5: that's the Queen's Gambit Declined. The pawn move 2...c6 is the Slav Defense, and in master games it is played most often. The move 2...Nf6 is the Marshall Defense: Black develops the knight and doesn't support the pawn on d5 with a pawn.
White's common idea: once the pawn on d5 has moved away or been traded, take the center with the pawn to e4. That's how it goes in the Central Variation 3.e4, the Anti-Moscow Gambit 7.e4 and the Marshall Defense 5.e4. If Black's bishop has left c8 early, the queen comes out to b3 against the pawn on b7. And the pawn move to a4 keeps Black from holding the extra pawn on c4 with b5.
White's plans
- Take the center with the pawn to e4 once the pawn on d5 has left the square
- Win back the pawn on c4 with the bishop on f1
- Play the pawn to a4 so that the pawn on b5 can't hold c4
- Queen to b3 against the pawn on b7 if the bishop has left c8
- Pin the knight on f6 with the bishop from g5, or put the bishop on f4
Black's plans
- Take the pawn on c4 and hold it with the pawns a6 and b5
- Support d5 with the pawn to e6 or c6
- In the Slav Defense, develop the bishop on c8 before playing e6
- Undermine White's center with the c5 or e5 break
- Pin the knight on c3 with the bishop from b4
Main systems
The branches where the game starts. Each one is a separate variation in the trainer.
Queen's Gambit Accepted 2...dxc4
Black takes the pawn on c4, but that pulls a pawn out of the center. The lines cover the Central Variation 3.e4 with the McDonnell Defense 3...e5 and the Alekhine System 3...Nf6 4.e5, the calm 3.e3, the knight move 3.Nc3 and the Classical Defense 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 with the Rubinstein Variation 7.a4. If Black tries to hold the pawn with b5, White answers with the pawn to a4. Seven of the ten lines are traps and Black's mistakes: the Queen's Gambit Accepted has more of them than any other system here.
In the trainer · 10 lines
Queen's Gambit Declined 2...e6
Black supports the pawn on d5 with the pawn on e6 but blocks the way for the bishop on c8. After 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 the bishop comes out to 5.Bf4: this is the Harrwitz Attack, and the pawn push 7.c5 takes queenside space away from Black. Against the Ragozin Defense 4...Bb4 White plays 5.a3: if the bishop goes to a5, the pawns trap it. In the Exchange Variation 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 there are two master lines: the knight goes to e2, and in one of them the pawn also goes to f3 — this is the plan with a big pawn center.
In the trainer · 4 lines
Slav Defense 2...c6
Black defends d5 with the pawn on c6, and the bishop on c8 can come out to f5 or g4. But then the pawn on b7 is left undefended, and the queen comes out to b3: in amateur games, players often go wrong here, and four such lines are covered. Against 4...dxc4 White plays the Alapin Variation 5.a4, and against the Czech Variation 5...Bf5, the Krause Attack 6.Ne5: three master lines, with the Carlsbad Variation 8...e5 and the Morozevich Variation 11...g5. Against the Chebanenko Variation 4...a6, the pawn push 5.c5 locks up the queenside.
In the trainer · 8 lines
Semi-Slav Defense 4...e6
After 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 the bishop comes out to g5 and pins the knight on f6. Against 5...h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 White is in no hurry to win the pawn back and takes the center with 7.e4: this is the Anti-Moscow Gambit, a pawn down but about equal. The lines cover the undermining push 10.h4 and two master lines with castling, 10.O-O. Against 5...dxc4 comes the Botvinnik Variation 6.e4: White sacrifices the knight with 9.Nxg5, and after 11.g3 — the Lilienthal Variation — White gets the piece back with an extra pawn. After 5...Be7 and castling, the position transposes into the Orthodox Defense of the Queen's Gambit Declined.
In the trainer · 5 lines
Marshall Defense 2...Nf6
Black develops the knight and doesn't support the pawn on d5 with a pawn. White takes, 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.Nf3, and on the next move chases the knight with the pawn to e4: the center stays White's. Covered here are a line against 4...g6 and two Black mistakes: early castling and the bishop's move to g4.
In the trainer · 3 lines
Typical mistakes and traps
Traps from these positions — why the natural move is a mistake and how to defend.
Rook on a8 under attack
Queen's Gambit
Black recaptures on b5 with the c6 pawn — and the queen on f3 attacks the rook on a8, which has nowhere to go.
In the trainer
More opponent mistakes in the lines
- Castling into a bishop strike on h7
- Queen sacrifice against the bishop on g4
- The bishop moves from g4 to f5
- Knight to e4 with no retreat
- Bishop to a5 in the Ragozin Defense
- Bishop on h5 with no escape route
- Pawn to b6 and the check from b5
- Bishop to d7 and the knight attack
- Queen double attack from a4
- Pawn to f6 and the check from h5
- Capture on d5 and the bishop sortie to f4
- Bishop to g4 in the Central Variation
How the lines were chosen
The lines are chosen from statistics of real games between amateur players of all levels. The set covers the opponent's most common replies and typical mistakes — moves after which, according to a chess engine, their position gets noticeably worse. A mistake is included only if a noticeable share of games reaches it. Traps are lines where your move provokes the mistake.
FAQ
How do you play the Queen's Gambit as White?
After 1.d4 d5 2.c4, it all depends on Black's reply. Against the capture 2...dxc4, take the center with 3.e4 or play 3.e3 so that the bishop on f1 wins back the pawn on c4; if Black tries to hold it with b5, answer with the pawn to a4. Against 2...e6 and 2...c6, develop the knights to c3 and f3 and the bishop to f4 or g5. Against the Marshall Defense 2...Nf6, take on d5 and chase the knight with the pawn to e4.
What is the Queen's Gambit Accepted?
It's the reply 2...dxc4: Black takes the pawn on c4, but that pulls a pawn out of the center. Holding on to it is hard, and White usually wins it back with the bishop. The lines cover four White moves: the Central Variation 3.e4, the calm 3.e3 (against 3...b5, the pawn move 4.a4 challenges the pawn on b5), and the knight moves 3.Nc3 and 3.Nf3.
What is the Queen's Gambit Declined?
Black doesn't take the pawn but supports d5 with 2...e6; the pawn on e6 blocks the way for the bishop on c8. White develops the knights and a bishop: 5.Bf4 is the Harrwitz Attack, and 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 is the Exchange Variation. If Black's bishop goes to b4 — the Ragozin Defense — the move 5.a3 sets a trap: the retreat 5...Ba5 loses the bishop.
How is the Slav Defense different from the Queen's Gambit Declined?
In both, Black holds the pawn on d5, but in the Slav Defense it's done with the pawn 2...c6: the bishop on c8 isn't shut in and can come out to f5 or g4. In the Queen's Gambit Declined 2...e6, the pawn on e6 blocks its way. If in the Slav Defense Black later puts a pawn on e6 as well — 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 — it becomes the Semi-Slav Defense.
What traps are there in the Queen's Gambit?
Black goes wrong most often in the Queen's Gambit Accepted: after 3.e3 b5 4.a4 c6 5.axb5, the capture 5...cxb5 opens the way for the queen to the rook on a8: 6.Qf3. In the Marshall Defense early castling, 7...O-O, is dangerous, and in the Slav Defense an early bishop sortie leaves the pawn on b7 undefended. In the Central Variation the jump 4...Ne4 loses the knight. How to punish each mistake is shown in the lines.
Can I train for free?
Yes: five lines are free — Black's mistake in the Queen's Gambit Accepted 3.e3 b5 4.a4 c6 5.axb5 cxb5, the Queen's Gambit Accepted 3.Nc3 a6, the Queen's Gambit Declined with the bishop on f4 (the Harrwitz Attack), the Anti-Moscow Gambit and the Marshall Defense 4...g6. The other lines are in PRO.