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

Slav Defense

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6

I must admit that I have not studied the Slav Defense as much as I have the Queen’s Gambit Declined or Queen’s Gambit Accepted. However, I do have two recommendations for white moves here.

• Nf3 is a solid move because the knight will certainly be involve in the game at some point and is not under immediate threat.
• Bf4 is a good idea here because we can target the knight on b8 now that the c pawn is not in the way. We have a lot of options for where the bishop can go from here. It is a safe move at this point with no real downsides. Don’t hesitate to kill the knight with the bishop unless you are player who prefers to keep your bishops alive. There is some matter of preference when it comes to the value of knights vs bishops.

As I play more games in the Slav defense, I may have more to say here. The Slav Defense has its own merits even though it is not as popular as other responses to the Queen’s Gambit.

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

Queen’s Gambit Accepted

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4

The majority of my wins while playing white come because black has accepted the Queen’s Gambit. White has 4 really good moves in this position, 3 of which involve plans to capture back the pawn on c4.

! Good moves for White

• e4 is the most obvious good move here. Moving the king’s pawn here allows both of white’s bishops to get out. White will most likely take back the pawn on c4 if black doesn’t come up with a defense for it quick.
• Nf3 is a way to delay deciding what to do with the c4 pawn after it is accepted. This remains a popular option because white may want to later combine the knight and bishop for an attack on f7 but has not decided what they will do with their e pawn yet.
• e3 Moving the e pawn only one square
• Qa4+ The white queen puts the black king in check and also guarantees that it can take the c4 pawn regardless of what black does to get out of check. The only danger is the fact that the queen could be under attack later if it comes out this soon.

? Bad moves for White

There are really no obviously bad moves in this position unless someone was trying to lose the game on purpose.

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

Queen’s Gambit Declined

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6

If black declines the Queen’s Gambit with e6, there are some things white must look out for. First, by moving the e pawn, black allows their dark squared bishop to get out next turn. This can possibly put the king in check and/or pin the knight if it has moved to c3. Therefore, all evaluation of moves should consider this threat.

! Good moves for White

• c5 By advancing the c4 pawn to c5, black is prevented from getting their dark squared bishop out entirely. I recommend this as the best move because now both of black’s bishops are prevented from getting out. They already blocked their light squared bishop on e6 and now our c5 pawn prevents them from moving the dark squared bishop there unless they are prepared to get killed by the d4 pawn in response.
• a3 is not the most agressive move but it is a nice defensive measure to prevent the dark squared bishop from coming to b4. This move should be done if white wants to safely move their knight to c3.
• Nf3 Moving the knight to f3 is particularly good in the Queen’s Gambit Declined position because it is safe here and can possibly move to e5 next turn. It also means we have not committed to whether we will move the e pawn one or two squares.

? Bad moves for White

• Nc3 Whatever you do, don’t try moving the knight to c3 on this turn unless you are prepared to lose it! You can move it here later if you wish but not until you have dealt with the threat of black’s dark squared bishop first. There will be some people who disagree with me on this because they think losing a knight to take down a bishop is a fair trade. However, I protect my knights because they are my “Queen Killers” and are often involved in forks later in the end game that my opponents don’t see. If you move the knight to c3 here, the bishop can move to b4 and the knight can’t move because that would put the king in check.

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.

In my own words, I would like to describe a bit about Markdown and how it changed my life as a Creative Writer. Markdown is a simple replacement for HTML when you need basic elements like headings, links, bold, and italics. There are many simple guides on it. I learned all about it by reading the Markdown Guide.

On that site, there are many tools which I have found helpful. I want to list my top two favorite markdown writing applications

SimpleNote is the tool I have used the most to quickly write my school assignment. It has two features that really help me. First, I have it installed on Windows, my iPhone, and an Android phone I use at work. It syncs anything I write on one device with all the others because I am logged into my account. It is super convenient because I spend so much time away from home that I can start writing something on my PC at home and then finish it on my lunch break at Walmart from my phone. Another thing that Simplenote does is tell me the word count of any note. This is important when an assignment in my Creative Writing course requires a minimum or maximum word count that I need to meet. For these reasons, a lot of the time I write my documents in Simplenote and then just copy them into Microsoft word after I have formatted them in Markdown through Simplenote.

Another app that is similar is called Joplin. This app is slightly different in that it does not automatically sync to the internet like Simplenote does by default. It has options for syncing through third party services, but I have no need of that because that’s what I use Simplenote for. Rather, the purpose of Joplin is that it is capable of working without an internet connection. I have only started using it recently but it has the ability to create multiple notebooks which work a little bit like folders in a file system of a computer. This means it is capable of being used for even greater organization than is currently capable by using Simplenote alone. It has features for importing and exporting notes so that they can be backed up regularly if you don’t feel like syncing them automatically.

Most importantly, both Simplenote and Joplin support Markdown. However, even aside from that, they are valuable note taking tools. If you ever need to write something down quickly, these apps can help you out. I find them helpful particularly because I can make a new note and then type something down without having to choose what to name a text file like I would if I was creating one in notepad.

I have a secret that is gigantic
That I am a hopeless romantic

I believe in true romantic love
But know it is hard to get hold of

There are billions of people I see
Yet only one that is right for me

I am very jealous of couples who dance
Because I have never had the same chance

I would like a partner but I haven’t tried
On every Valentine’s Day I have cried

I know most people would not understand
That being alone is not what I planned

I am transgender, asexual, and complex
I want the love but do not want the sex

I want someone who also wants me
Who does not care if I am a he or a she

The odds are against me and alone I will die
But these feelings I have I cannot deny

True love accepts someone even in their mess
And doesn’t resign the love game of Chess

In 37 years, I have never even had a date
But I hope to someday find my check mate