Learning the QGD(Queen's Gambit Declined)

This is a post for to learn the QGD opening.

The Queen's Gambit Declined (or QGD) is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit. 

This is the starting position of the Queen's Gambit Declined 

Playing 2...e6 releases Black's dark-squared bishop, while obstructing his light-squared bishop. By declining White's temporary pawn sacrifice, Black erects a solid position; the pawns on d5 and e6 give Black a foothold in the center. The Queen's Gambit Declined has the reputation of being one of Black's most reliable defenses to 1.d4. In this situation, White will try to exploit the passivity of Black's light-squared bishop, and Black will try to release it, trade it, or prove that, while passive, the bishop has a useful defensive role.

After 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 (other third moves are also possible: 3.cxd5 may be played to lead to the Exchange line, 3.Nf3 keeps options open, 3.g3 will transpose to the Catalan, and 3.e4 transposes to the Diemer–Duhm_Gambit in the French Defense), Black's main move is 3...Nf6, though he has other options as well:

3... c5, the Tarrasch Defense, if Black is willing to accept an isolated d-pawn.

3... Be7, the Alatortsev Variation. At top level, this has recently been played much more often than Nf6. Sometimes, this transposes to positions arising from 3...Nf6, and has the advantage, from Black's standpoint, of avoiding the insidious pressure of the main lines in the Exchange Variation arising after 3...Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 with an annoying pin. In many cases, the game will simply transpose into the main lines after 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5, or, White can now play 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3, when 6...Bf5 7.g4 became a topical line after its adoption by Mikhail Botvinnik in his 1963 title match with Tigran Petrosian. 6.Qc2 is also popular. These exchange lines are more popular than transposing at top level.

3... c6, now the Semi-Slav Defense may be reached via 4.Nf3 Nf6, though 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 (6.Nc3 c5 gives little) 6...Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 leads to a sharp struggle, and 4.Nf3 dxc4 is the Noteboom Variation, also sometimes known as the Abrahams Variation, after the English master, Gerald Abrahams.

3... Bb4?!, confusing a Nimzo-Indian with a Queen's Gambit (also known as the Berg defense, named for the Latvian player, Theodor Berg (1902–1966) who played it against Alexander Alekhine at the Kemeri Tournament of 1937), and at this point an inaccuracy. Lines that attempt to punish 3...Bb4 include 4.Qa4+ Nc6 5.Nf3 where Black is forced to block the c-pawn with the knight, and 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 and White has the bishop pair almost for free (on the average worth half a pawn), since cxd5 is unstoppable and there will be no doubled pawns as a counterbalance. White also has the option of 4. Nf3 Nf6 transposing into the Ragozin Variation.

3... a6, the Janowski Variation, gained some interest in 2021 after being tried by world champion Magnus Carlsen. The move threatens dxc4 followed by b5, attempting to hold on to the pawn. For this reason, White usually plays cxd5 first.

Here are couple of games and analyses by IM @JackRudd Jack Rudd as example of how QGD is played and how you can learn from the players playing QGD.

Rudd Jack vs Munsey A Jon 1:0

Harvey Marcus R vs Derakhshani Borna 1:0

Rudd Jack vs Whitby Jevon 1:0

Webb Laurence E vs Gordon Frederick 0:1

Caruana Fabiano vs Jumabayev Rinat 0:1

Howell David vs Yakubboev Nodirbek 1:0

Pert Nicholas vs Gordon Frederick 1:0

Wojtaszek Radoslav vs Martirosyan Haik M 1:0

Pert Nicholas vs McPhillips Joseph 1:0

Hebden Mark L vs Head Louise 1:0

Rapport Richard vs Andreikin Dmitry 1:0

Nakamura Hikaru vs Rapport Richard 1:0

So Wesley vs Tabatabaei Amin 1:0

Keymer Vincent vs Dubov Daniil 1:0

Keymer Vincent vs Aronian Levon 0:1