This has got to be bad? But how to best play against it as black? Anyone know any good ideas here?

e3

It's not a bad move at all. In fact, White is going to be stuck with that black pawn on d4 cramping his game in a benoni-like position. And the Benoni is suspect enough for Black that it doesn't become amazing when White plays it and has an extra tempo.

So against it, typical Benoni stuff, like e3, exd, g3, Bg2, a3, b4, stuff like that. Well, assuming Black plays c5 at some point. He doesn't have to in which case... hm, don't know. I like Black's position.

I don't play this as white. I want to know what black is supposed to do after d4. White is obviously bad here but I want to kill this opening because so many seem to play it.

Well the most "killy" (uh, killiest?) way to play would be c5, Nc6, e5 and play for e4 and smash your opponent through the center. It's basically a Benoni so keep in mind things like the Nf6-d7-c5 thing and playing a5 to stop b4... really there are a lot of ways to play that are good. You should probably just look at some Benoni ideas and see if they work...

Great thanks.

I'm not really sure what theory thinks of 2...d4, it seems to be looked upon negatively yet I think things are far from clear. White is able to get "good" benoni positions, but considering that regular benonis are rather good for white, I would imagine going into the structure as black, while not as good as usual, would still seem like a decent way to get an imbalanced position. I'm not sure if the fact that white can play b4 right away makes him better, but anyway it's certainly worth trying if you want to "kill" it!

Even 2...dxc4 (always condemned) is probably better than it's reputation, which is sort of like a QGA.

2...e6 and 2...c6 are queen's gambit ish that, if white plays in quiet reti fashion with a double finachetto etc, should give black good freedom, but it requires a lot of patience to play as black at the same time, because there are so many ways for him to overextend. In fact I think white can transpose into the queen's gambit with 3 d4 against these moves if he wants. Even if white doesn't play d4, black can still adopt QGD setups like the semi slav, tartakower etc with reasonable chances.

I think ...d4 does have a poor reputation, but because the other counters give Black an easy equality.  At the higher levels where the theoretical trends are set, easy early equality for Black is considered a blessing in itself, so a move that creates some unclear imbalances isn't going to be favored. 

At lower levels where us mere mortals push the pieces, it's not a bad move at all.  White against the Modern Benoni usually presses the issue because he is White, which necessarily allows Black his natural counterplay and imbalanced positions result.  But Black is under no obligation to press for advantage after 2 ...d4, since equality is perfectly acceptable especially if he may still get some chances for counterplay.  So if he takes the space advantage and then plays what would be for White a too conservative approach to achieve an advantage, he can still do pretty well.

Crap is easy to beat isn't it?

Anyway, the Reti is playable for a long time and there's good and bad for every reply. I think you should just jump in with 2...dxc4. 2...d4 might be the best option but then you're giving White either a Benoni or Benko or with tempo so you have to know what you're doing. You're definetly going to have problems playing against those on autopilot.

Anyway after 2...dxc4 I think 3.e4 it's White's best shot now. 3.Na3 just isn't forcing enough imo and Black can set up any way he wants and get a good position to play with. 3...e5 is annoying enough but you can still play stuff like 3...c5 and be ok. I just don't see what Black needs to worry about after Na3 other than losing to a better player.  After 3.Qa4+ you just push the queen around.

Here's what GM Neil McDonald has to say about 2....d4 in his Starting out: The Reti...

"The move 2...d4, which is sometimes called the Reti Benoni, was recommended by the positional maestro Akiba Rubinstein when the Reti Opening first appeared on the scene in the 1920s. Nowadays it has been championed at the highest level by Vladimir Kramnik and other elite players...

It isn't difficult to see what attracts a great strategist to this variation...."

After d4 it's white's move... ? But at any rate you are't going to refute the Reti, it's a very well established opening. Capablanca didn't like it much when he first encountered it either. ;)  

I don't play the Reti but I have played against it. I don't know why but I loose most of my game playing against it. If someone could give me a line that I can play against the reti would help.        :)