This is part of my series of notes on the most common positions I find myself in when playing the Queen’s Gambit. This is my favorite opening when playing the white pieces and I have been studying it for some time. The act of writing things down helps me organize my thoughts and memorize what I have learned.

The format of these notes is as follows:

• Name of Opening/Variation
• Move list in Chess notation
• One or more paragraphs of notes
• Evaluation of good or bad moves from this position

The Queen’s Gambit

1. d4 d5 2. c4

The Queen’s Gambit is one of the most popular openings in the world of Chess. It is what Chastity plays almost all the time. The idea is very simple. White sacrifices a pawn on c4 to buy time to get the bishop and knight out. This small sacrifice can lead to an advantage for white if black falls for the trap. If black takes the c4 pawn, white will then have several options for killing the black pawn and/or ignoring it to develop other pieces. But right now, it is black’s turn and they must decided whether to accept or decline the Queen’s Gambit.

! Good moves for Black

• e6 Defend the d5 pawn by moving the king’s pawn to e6. If white decides to capture the d5 pawn black will capture back and then white will still not be able to move their bishop to c4. Playing e6 is called the “Queen’s Gambit Declined”
• c6 Although it is less common, c6, known as the “Slav Defense” is another way to decline the gambit. By playing this move, black is hinting at a possible check against the white king by moving the black queen to a5. In any case, this move has the same idea that black will capture back on d5 if white’s c4 pawn takes it.

? Bad moves for Black

• dxc4 If black takes this pawn, they can fall into one of many possible traps. It is nearly impossible to prevent white from taking back this pawn with the bishop after moving the e pawn. Also, white now has the option to safely move the e pawn to e4 without it being captured because black no longer has the pawn on d5. If black has played dxc4 here, then they are now in a “Queen’s Gambit Accepted” position. White has the advantage of controlling the center with both their king and queen pawns. Black can still win of course but it will be much harder from here.