1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3.Bf4

In chess databases I have looked at, only once has this opening been used. I am deathly afraid of blocking my bishops with pawns, and I always like to take my bishop out early so I can support my d4 pawn with e3, and open up the diagonal with my bishop to recapture.

crap i blew it, 1. d4 d5

its a variation of the Queen's gambit

Obviously. I am very well aware of this fact. My question is why no one follows up the exchange variation with the move Bf4. Nf6 is the most popular response.

I never play 1.d4 and only play 1...f5 against it so this is all guesswork on my part,

Nf3 achieves the same thing as Bf4 (prevent e5) while contributing to developing the kingside. The knight can also potentially jump to e5 or d2 putting pressure on the c4 pawn whereas the f4 bishop can never attack it.

So basically I'm guessing Black finds it too easy to hold the gambit pawn

and the bishop possibly finds itself misplaced on f4 in some lines?

(But what do I know with my 1500)

My database gives 11 games with 3 Bf4 and white scores 50%. The 3 main moves : Nf3, e3 and e4 all score better than 55% for white and 3 Nc3 scores 53 %.  I would say you dont see 3 Bf4 much simply because there are several better moves available. 

My main reasoning behind the move is that in many games I have looked at that follow 3. e3, the dark squared bishop is usually rendered useless for the entire game. I feel that on the f4 square it will usually sit tight and not be harassed. How can the bishop really come into play if its being blocked by the e-pawn?

Thanks for the input people

In the 3 e4 lines the B/c1 is not a problem for white. It often goes to e3 or interposes on d2 in answer to a check from b4. In the 3 e3 and 3 Nf3 lines the B/c1 is often developed to b2.

Although the bishop is improved on f4, 1: that's not the priorty and 2: it's not even clear f4 is the best square. The bishop has some potential on f4, but it doesn't achieve anything concrete (the control of its diagonal does not give black immediate problems and thus gives him more freedom) and slows down white's central strategy (getting pawns on e4 and d4, when an opening d5 break is often threatened) -- white mobilizing in the center is important enough that he wouldn't want to waste a move getting the bishop out when, though it's decent, doesn't achieve anything specific to his plan, and when it's not white's biggest problem -- the bishop is often opened later. Maybe when the position is more clarified it may turn out that white wants to hit c7, perhaps in conjunction with a c1 rook -- but that clarification is not move 3.

Remember that when looking at moves and positions, you want to play the most valuable moves for achieving a plan -- in this case Bf4 was logical but didn't quite do the trick. Make as much of each move as possible; don't just settle for bringing a piece off its starting square.

In fact, in the QGA where white plays e3 it's common for him to actually end up developing his rook a1 to d1 before developing the knight to c3! That's because in that specific position d5 is as strong of a threat it can be ( often being lined up with black's queen). The biggest factor -- not the only factor -- but the biggest one -- that determines the quality of a piece is based on the amount of threats it's able to make in the short term, because if they come quick your opponent has to react, often putting him on the defensive. The Bf4 on the other hand, is more of a long term piece: it's a logical square but for now doesn't put the pressure to black because there are no short term threats involving it coming up. Even in the long term we don't know if the diagonal is going to be ideal -- although it's central, if you can't be more specific of what a piece can achieve other than "it's developed," maybe it's not as good or as necessary as you think to move it there.

Sweet writeup man I appreciate it. This is kind of a vague request but maybe someone will be able to help me. Is there any example of what could be considered a "typical" GM game of QGA, that shows some common tactical or strategic themes that are used in this opening? I feel like my openings are relatively alright but once my pieces are developed i'm never really sure how to really go on the attack. I have been reccomended to read articles on this website before but I feel there's really a lacking of FULLY annotated games that describe each move and the reasoning behind them for a low-intermediate player. Also a similar game with Caro Kann winning for black would be great. Thanks a lot for your guys' time and great responses.