Queen's Gambit Declined

The idea

Black holds the d5 pawn with 2...e6 and keeps a firm foothold in the center. It is one of the most solid defenses in chess. The cost is the bishop on c8, which is now shut in behind the e6 pawn.

White's 3.Nc3 adds a third attacker on d5. Black's main replies are 3...Nf6, leading to lines such as the Orthodox Defense, and 3...c5, the Tarrasch Defense.

Plans for White

The usual plan is to develop with Bg5 and Nf3, pinning the knight on f6 and adding pressure on d5. White keeps more space and often plays on the queenside with Rc1 and the c-file.

White can also exchange on d5 at the right moment (the Exchange Variation) and later advance the b-pawn against Black's queenside, the minority attack.

Plans for Black

Develop with ...Nf6, ...Be7 and castling, and keep d5 safe. The key to the Declined is freeing the queen's bishop later with a pawn break, ...c5 or ...e5.

If you prefer active pieces to a rock-solid structure, ...c5 (the Tarrasch) gets the pawn break in straight away, at the cost of an isolated d-pawn.

Watch out for

For White, the Elephant Trap. After 3...Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5, the knight on f6 looks pinned to the queen, so 6.Nxd5?? seems to win a pawn. It loses a piece: 6...Nxd5! 7.Bxd8 Bb4+, and White has to play 8.Qd2, after which 8...Bxd2+ 9.Kxd2 Kxd8 leaves Black a piece up for a pawn.

For Black, the danger is passivity. If the c8 bishop never gets free, Black can end up with a cramped position and nothing to do.

History

The earliest recorded Elephant Trap is from Berlin in 1848, when Karl Mayet fell into it against Daniel Harrwitz. In the first half of the 20th century, the Queen's Gambit Declined was the main battleground of world championship chess.