As Black
Queen's Gambit Declined
The Queen's Gambit Declined is a chess opening for Black that starts with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6.
The most classical defence against 1.d4: Black holds the d5 pawn with ...e6 and develops solidly.
Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero
Basic · Elo 400 – 600
Modern Variation, Heral Variation
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Bxf6 Bxf6 6.e4 dxe4
3...Nf6 4.c5
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.c5 b6 5.b4 a5 6.Bd2 axb4
3...Nf6 4.Nc3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 c5 8.O-O cxd4
Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line · 4...Be7 5.Bg5
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7
3...Nf6 4.Nf3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Nc3 O-O 6.Bd3 dxc4
Harrwitz Attack · 4...Be7 5.Bf4
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 dxc4
Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line · 4...Be7 5.e3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 h6
Harrwitz Attack · 2...e6 3.Nf3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6
Intermediate · Elo 800 – 1000
Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line · 4...Be7 5.Bg5
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Nxe4 dxe4
Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line · 4...Be7 5.e3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Nd2 f5
Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line · 4...Be7 5.Nf3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Nd2 f5 11.Be2 a5
Three Knights Variation
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 c5
Exchange Variation
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 c6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.e3 Bf5
Exchange Variation, Positional Variation
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd3 Re8
Harrwitz Attack
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bb7
3...Nf6 4.e3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Be7 5.Nc3 O-O 6.Bd3 dxc4
Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line · 3...Nf6 4.Bg5
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nc3 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4
Advanced · Elo 1200 – 1400
Exchange Variation, Positional Variation · 7...Re8 8.Qc2
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd3 Re8 8.Qc2 h6 9.Bh4 c5 10.dxc5 d4 11.exd4 Qxd4
Closed · 6...dxc4 7.Qc2
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 b5 8.a4 Bb7 9.axb5 a6 10.bxa6 Nxa6 11.Qxc4 Bd5 12.Qc3 c5
Anti-Tartakower Variation
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.cxd5 exd5
Closed · 6...dxc4 7.Ne5
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.Bxc6 Rb8
Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line · 6...h6 7.Bh4
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Nd2 f5 11.Be2 a5
Three Knights Variation
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 c5 8.O-O cxd4
Exchange Variation, Positional Variation · 5...Be7 6.Qc2
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Qc2 O-O 7.e3 h6 8.Bh4 Re8
Neo-Orthodox Variation, Main Line · 4...Be7 5.Bg5
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7
Exchange Variation, Reshevsky Variation
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd3 Re8 8.Nge2 c6
Harrwitz Attack
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bb7
Frequently asked questions
Is the Queen's Gambit Declined good for beginners?
Yes. On OpeningCraft you learn it in these levels: Basic (Elo 400 – 600), Intermediate (Elo 800 – 1000), Advanced (Elo 1200 – 1400). It suits players who prefer long-term plans and pawn structure.
How many lines of the Queen's Gambit Declined do you need to learn?
OpeningCraft teaches 27, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.