I need to learn a system to play against 1. d4

I am a pretty low rated player around 1300 and i want to learn the basics of a good system to play against 1.d4. I want to learn this because i have a school chess tournament in November (i am 17 btw) and when i play against the people there most of them dont know chess theory, they dont even know to name the opening they play. I am curently ranked second in my school (i lost in the finals cause i was nervous and yea that reflected on my game) and i wanna win this tournament in November. The thing is whenever i face 1. d4 in school it goes kinda like this

Now, i want to know what can i play against this other than the thing i play now (I think it is called the Colle System). Maybe some variation of the KID or Grunfeld? I really need help and pls dont say "Oh you are a bad player to learn how to play those openings that are full of theory." i dont need to play at a master level i just wanna know more on how to face 1. d4, i already play the Sicilian against 1. e4 and it is used me pretty good since no one knows any chess theory which makes me have the advantage of at least some knowledge. Tnx in advance! 

Try reading "Winning chess openings" from Yasser Seirawan. Plenty of knowledge about the queen pawn's openings.

I'd highly recommand the king's indian defense.

The idea behind it is extremely simple and it's extremely simple to crush opponents who have no knowledge whatsoever on the system.

I'm also 17 and I can completely understand why you're nervous because I've been in the exact same situation. It's just that you shouldn't really care about the tournament of your opponent. Just imagine you're playing someone you usually play or copy me; imagine you're playing on the internet!

Puno sreçe :)

Try developing BOTH your knights first, before your bishop and 2nd pawn.  Try this 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. Bg5 Nc6 5. e4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Bb5 O-O 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. O-O.  It will take a different line and he'll have a doubled pawn, you'll have good control of the center.  If he does dxe4, then can retake with your knight and be in good shape with both your knight close to the center.  Then as soon as you can, move your rook on f to e1.  If he ever moves his Q, take his bishop with your knight and he'll retake with his pawn which will expose his king.  Think of 3 candidate moves each time and see where they go, then pick the best one.  You'll be #1 soon. 

I usually try for the Nimzo or Bogo, allows me to be flexible in a system that I am comfortable with.

Hmmm i am still thinking about the KID or maybe the Slav. As i earlier said yes both are complicated, but so is the Sicilian, and i won 9 out of 10 games with black using the Sicilian in the last tournament because my opponents are really familiar with the lines and they have no chess theory. So yea, it is the KID or the Slav. =)

Well i guess there is nothing wrong with it, but i just panic if someone plays 1.d4 cause i really dont have a system against that. So i improvise while playing, sometimes it turns out good, sometimes i get crushed, so yea i wanna learn how to face the 1. d4. I have about 2 months time until November to at least know what my plans and ideas are when i play as black against that first move. KID looks kinda passive, and the Slav looks kinda good but i am not sure. Maybe QID and the Nimzo? I am really confused. xD

Yes, i prefer open games to closed ones, but i usually get an open game when i play with white. Still it will be a tough call to choose and opening for black.

how about the benko gambit

the reversed colle system/semi-slav, develop, then play e5.

(imagine White plays normal moves)

or the stonewall dutch

(prevent white playing e4)

Slav defense.

There's nothing wrong with the system you're playing now... as mentioned above, it's a type of Tarrasch formation which is perfectly playable at your level.

Also... while I'm not an IM by any means... I feel that you could easily play the KID against 1300-1400 rated opponents. At your level of chess, it's not so important to know the book lines in that opening, since you will rarely face them except by accident. What you need to learn about the KID is the typical types of formations and where your counter-play can be expected to come from... in which types of formations pushing a Pawn to e5 is better than playing c5 instead, when your Queen's Knight belongs on c6 and when it should go to d7 instead, when to exchange in the center and when to hold your ground and manoever.

Yea i started learning the KID yesterday and i also looked up some great games from Kasparov and Fischer, they used it pretty well so if i can pick up a trick or two that would be nice :D i have enough time to prepare for the tournament and finally be #1 =)

@ChristianSoldier007 yea  i saw that online a while ago here is the playlist  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL395D5E86206DD11C&feature=plcp it is good if you wanna learn it but i am into the KID more, tnx anyway =) 

YouTube.com has loads of instructional chess videos. One channel that offers good introduction to most openings is "The Chess Website". The uploader, 'Kevin', goes through the most common lines in many openings and explains the general ideas behind an opening or defense. These are videos made for those who want to learn more about chess and needs a place to start. There are also channels on YouTube with more advanced videos that includes a bit more in-depth analysis, like the channel "Chessexplained - Chess Videos to learn and enjoy". Although, from what you told us about your own level of play, I would recommend thechesswebsite to begin with. (Hold Ctrl and click the links to follow them :p)

These videos can be very helpful, check them out :)

Regards,

Dragonbice

  Hahaha i have been watching Kevins videos for almost a year now :D and in the beginning of the summer i found some great chess channels: OnlineChessLessons, Kingscrusher, Chessexplained. Tnx for the help Dragonbice =)

Aboba wrote:

blueemu wrote:

There's nothing wrong with the system you're playing now... as mentioned above, it's a type of Tarrasch formation which is perfectly playable at your level.

Also... while I'm not an IM by any means... I feel that you could easily play the KID against 1300-1400 rated opponents. At your level of chess, it's not so important to know the book lines in that opening, since you will rarely face them except by accident. What you need to learn about the KID is the typical types of formations and where your counter-play can be expected to come from... in which types of formations pushing a Pawn to e5 is better than playing c5 instead, when your Queen's Knight belongs on c6 and when it should go to d7 instead, when to exchange in the center and when to hold your ground and manoever.

Yea i started learning the KID yesterday and i also looked up some great games from Kasparov and Fischer, they used it pretty well so if i can pick up a trick or two that would be nice :D i have enough time to prepare for the tournament and finally be #1 =)@ChristianSoldier007 yea  i saw that online a while ago here is the playlist  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL395D5E86206DD11C&feature=plcp it is good if you wanna learn it but i am into the KID more, tnx anyway =) 

KID is the best!!!

Well, in that case, maybe you have studied up on some openings but after that 8th, 9th or 10th move, you don't know what your plan should be? IF that is the case, try searching for middle game videos, maybe something will come up :)

Good luck to you in that tournament, I hope you'll crush your opponents! They are all WEAKLINGS, I tell you!! GO GO GOOO!!!! *RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWRRRGG*

After i learn the opening of KID a bit more, i will focus more on the middle game. And yea they are all weaklings, just have to play it calm and crush them piece by piece, move by move :D

Above is the setup I normally play as black.  Nf6, e6 and Bb4, then fianchetto on the queenside.  Later on after I castle I will play c5 or d5 to challenge the center.  If white challenges the bishop on b4, I usually trade it for the knight.

I don't have a lot of opening theory memorized but the above setup tends to work OK against a bunch of variations by white.