My Queen’s Gambit Declined – Part 1 BY GM Vaibhav Suri

The second part of the series will feature the Catalan Opening and the Ragozin (this will be our answer after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3)

Against all these variations, you will find fresh analysis rich of new ideas. The repertoire is very practical in terms of playing for a win. Additionally, GM Vaibhav Suri tried hard to reduce the theoretical overload. Hence, the suggested repertoire is easy to adopt.

The course consists of 7 theoretical chapters, 10 interactive test positions, a Memory Booster, and a Video Version (2h and 50min).

One of the most important tabiyas in the database is being reached after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4

This system is the author’s main recommendation for this course and our idea with this system is to aspire to get slightly more fighting and complex as opposed to the usual dull and dry typical Queens Gambit Declined. By the way, the move 5.Bf4 (instead of 5.Bg5) is covered as well.

The main tabiya of this line arises after the moves 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 g5 8.Bg3 Ne4

All White’s deviations from this position are discussed in Chapter 1. At this point, White’s main move is by far 9.Ne2. All the deviations are covered in Chapter 2. According to Suri, the move 9.a3 is the most interesting move among the rare options on move 9. In all the cases, however, Black is doing fine.

In Chapter 3, Suri deals with the position arising after 9.Ne2 h5

We stick to our usual approach of targetting the g3 bishop. At this juncture, White has two options – 10.h3 and 10.h4, which is the main line. The analysis in this chapter shows that Black has an excellent counterplay in both cases.

Chapter 4 is dedicated to the London System. Although GM Suri explains different move orders, we will now focus on the main position arising after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 c5 5.Nbd2 Nc6 6.c3 cxd4 7.exd4 Nh5!?

This is the direction Suri recommends in this chapter. In his opinion, this system is solid and gives a decent chance to get a playable position. Concrete analysis shows that Black is doing fine from a theoretical standpoint as well.

Chapter 5 covers the Trompowsky Opening to which we react with 2…d5.

This is considered the most principled antidote to the Trompowsky Opening. Whenever White takes the f6-knight, our approach will be based on …gxf6. Against all the other moves, we play the active …c7-c5. In this chapter, Suri examines different move orders and ideas. Besides being theoretically fine, Black can hope to overtake the initiative.

Chapter 6 provides you with a principled repertore against the Jobava System. The main position of our repertoire is reached after 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 a6

Black covers the b5 square and has the idea to continue with natural development – …Nc6. The main strategic point behind this setup is based on the play along the semi-open c-file. The white knight is often quite misplaced on c3. Analysis shows that Black is doing fine in this line.

In the final Chapter 7, Suri provides you with a repertoire against the Colle System. The starting position of this line arises after the moves 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3

Colle System is sometimes seen and played at the top level. In this chapter of the course, we will go through a simple and effective way to combat this opening. We should note there are multiple ways to play here, and this is one of those openings where White does not want to engage in a theoretical battle. The setups suggested by Suri is based on the principled and straightforward 3…c5. If you study well the suggested setup, you will be ready to face the Colle System with confidence.