Hello,

Just come back to this site after a period away.  I am a low-graded club and tournament player in the UK and have difficulty playing as Black against 1.d4 and 2. c4.  I used to reply with 1...Nf6 2...g6 and 3...Bg7 but I find myself getting very cramped and at a loss to know how to release tension.

I recently switched to 1... and 2...e6 and have had slightly better results.  However, I always find my heart sinking after an opponent plays 1.d4 in my tournaments.

The amount of material online going over this seems quite overwhelming so really what I am asking is where should I start and what other advice to someone of my level could people offer?

Thanks in advance.

I personally started with the Queen's Gambit Accepted. There's a good repertoire book called "How to Beat 1.d4" from Gambit Publications that uses the QGA as the foundation. The thing to remember is the pawn must be used as a stalling tactic to delay white while you solidify and develop the rest of your pieces. Aside from that, you'll generally find most players are not as used to the QGA as they are the QGD.

+1

Also, it's more fun to play, I think.

what about the QGD Exchange Variation??

Which when I was a beginner, I found exactly those topics the most difficult to grasp. I'm probably more in line with Silman's thinking that if a beginner is to play the QGD, it should be the d5-e6-Nf6-Be7-0-0 formation to start with.

Just watched this video on the Lasker and I think it is something I could play.

Thanks for the 'heads-up'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VREDoc8sP38

The more I read Silman, the better I become.  Wading through 'The Amateur Mind' right now and it's transformed the way I think about a game.