Chess opening vs 1.d4

Hey everyone, 

I’ve been in a rut recently that I need to get out of. I am about 1500 chess.com and am relatively new to chess, although I study the game pretty often. I understand at my level that I should be studying tactics and endgames and middlegame plans and stuff like that, but openings have always inspired me to study the rest, and while I have always been pretty headstrong about openings vs 1.e4 (1.e5 and some dragon, although I’ve tried nearly every sicilian line at this point) and as white (ruy Lopez supremacy) 1.d4 has been giving me issues recently. 

I used to be a kings Indian aficionado, studying many lines to prove the validity of the opening, but too often I would find myself trying to find the best move in a do or die situation, and while I have loved some of the games I’ve won, I have been humiliated by the ones I’ve lost and I am afraid that other openings will be better for my improvement.

I have also played the Nimzo, although less so than the KID. I liked it when I played it because many people didn’t know the theory and it was pretty straight forward, but at my level now people avoid it in many different ways, and the fact that I cannot play it vs 1.c4, 1.Nf3 or 3.Nf3 or 3.g3 is annoying considering the amount of critical lines and amount to study. This is why I was okay with studying the KID, since I could play it against anything.

Finally, I have quite a good handle of the QGD, as I have read a good bit of the Sadler book, however I am afraid of the exchange variation and the inevitability of holding a worse endgame instead of playing for a win from the get-go like I did with the KID. I am also worried that if I play the QGD it won’t benefit me as much as the Nimzo could, considering the wide amount of structures available. Also move orders can be confusing with the QGD and I feel as though it may not fit my “style”, being a more dynamic player. Although I would say I’m more of a universal player than strictly dynamic, as I also enjoy the endgame and squeezing my opponent.

Knowing all this, I wanted to get some feedback and recommendations on what I should do. Overall I want to prioritize improvement, im just worried that studying the opening will hinder that since it might not benefit me like tactics, middlegame and endgames would. I have goals to be come an avid expert tournament player and eventually a NM or FM title, and considering I have only been playing about for a little over a year, my goal is to become 1700+ by 2024. Any general improvement tips or otherwise would be welcomed.

If anyone is interested in checking my games my chess.com is Linkeroftime1. If you do, be warned because I have been playing pretty badly recently.

TLDR: need an opening for d4 as black: have tried Nimzo, KID and QGD, but have problems with each. What should I do to prioritize improvement?

Try the Dutch. It is sound, sharp and rare. It can also be aplied against 1.Nf3 ans 1.c4. Even if you later on end up with another option it will not be a waste of time as it will always be a good second opening (I think that you should have two openings, so you can variate, can choose according to mood/opponent/tournament standing, and have a alternative when one is 'at the garage' for repair.

If you are afraid of the early sidelines (1.d4 f5 2.e4 eg.) you can begin with plaing 1.d4 e6 as you allready play the French.

I don’t play the French though

…that other openings will be better for my improvement.

I have also played the Nimzo, although less so than the KID. I liked it when I played it because many people didn’t know the theory and it was pretty straight forward, but at my level now people avoid it in many different ways, and the fact that I cannot play it vs 1.c4, 1.Nf3 or 3.Nf3 or 3.g3 is annoying considering the amount of critical lines and amount to study. This is why I was okay with studying the KID, since I could play it against anything.

Finally, I have quite a good handle of the QGD, as I have read a good bit of the Sadler book, however I am afraid of the exchange variation and the inevitability of holding a worse endgame instead of playing for a win from the get-go like I did with the KID. I am also worried that if I play the QGD it won’t benefit me as much as the Nimzo could, considering the wide amount of structures available. Also move orders can be confusing with the QGD and I feel as though it may not fit my “style”, being a more dynamic player. Although I would say I’m more of a universal player than strictly dynamic, as I also enjoy the endgame and squeezing my opponent.

Knowing all this, I wanted to get some feedback and recommendations on what I should do. Overall I want to prioritize improvement, im just worried that studying the opening will hinder that since it might not benefit me like tactics, middlegame and endgames would. I have goals to be come an avid expert tournament player and eventually a NM or FM title, and considering I have only been playing about for a little over a year, my goal is to become 1700+ by 2024. Any general improvement tips or otherwise would be welcomed.

If anyone is interested in checking my games my chess.com is Linkeroftime1. If you do, be warned because I have been playing pretty badly recently.

TLDR: need an opening for d4 as black: have tried Nimzo, KID and QGD, but have problems with each. What should I do to prioritize improvement?

…of the exchange variation and the inevitability of holding a worse endgame instead of playing for a win from the get-go like I did with the KID. I am also worried that if I play the QGD it won’t benefit me as much as the Nimzo could, considering the wide amount of structures available. Also move orders can be confusing with the QGD and I feel as though it may not fit my “style”, being a more dynamic player. Although I would say I’m more of a universal player than strictly dynamic, as I also enjoy the endgame and squeezing my opponent.

Knowing all this, I wanted to get some feedback and recommendations on what I should do. Overall I want to prioritize improvement, im just worried that studying the opening will hinder that since it might not benefit me like tactics, middlegame and endgames would. I have goals to be come an avid expert tournament player and eventually a NM or FM title, and considering I have only been playing about for a little over a year, my goal is to become 1700+ by 2024. Any general improvement tips or otherwise would be welcomed.

If anyone is interested in checking my games my chess.com is Linkeroftime1. If you do, be warned because I have been playing pretty badly recently.

TLDR: need an opening for d4 as black: have tried Nimzo, KID and QGD, but have problems with each. What should I do to prioritize improvement?

Try the semi slav. It is solid and tactical and is one of the best possible ways to meet d4. Shankland did an amazing chessable course on it

Agree, and before you go saying "but what about the Exchange Slav, blah blah blah", just learn it! You won't face it often, but a huge mistake amateurs make is they think they can force their own mold all the time and they just can't. A Sicilian player must deal with 2.c3, a French player must deal with 3.exd5. A King's Indian player must deal with 7.dxe5.

Over 20 years ago, I tried to force the issue in the French Exchange. Make sure I castle the opposite way, etc. I lost a lot of times.

In August 2014, I started realizing that if I simply learn it and embrace that it will happen, it would solve all problems. Now, since 2014, I have played 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.O-O O-O 7.Bg5 Bg4 8.Nbd2 Nbd7 9.c3 c6 10.Qc2 Qc7. Now I often get 11.h3 Bh5 where I can go Bg6 but he cannot get in Bg3 due to h3, or I also get a lot of 11.Rfe1 Rfe8 12.Rxe8 Rxe8 13.Re1 14.Rxe1 Nxe1 and my pieces are better placed, particularly the Knight, and it is my move.

The trick is to learn the dull stuff. For French players, it is minor piece endgames, which occur a LOT in the Exchange French. I did that, and since August 2014, I have faced the exchange French over the board about 60 times. I literally have lost only twice, both in very fast time controls, and of the rest of them, I have won about twice as many games as I have drawn.

In your case, you would need to do the same with the Exchange Slav. Learn the typical endgames that come from that opening, know what to trade and what not to, and win with Technical Chess rather than expecting fireworks every game.

Sure the exchange Slav isn't exciting, but neither is the Exchange French, but these days, I love it when White plays a stupid move like 3.exd5 because my odds in losing are slim at best. You just deal with the fact that you will be grinding out an endgame rather than have the dynamics of say, the French Poisoned Pawn or the Botvinnik Semi-Slav.

You have played 121 games with the French here at cc?

With the Exchange Slav, I have a nice option with the Winawer Countergambit. It’s very easy to get as most people don’t play 3.Nf3 and it will make White cringe that they can’t get a boring position. The Exchange Slav can be exciting but I highly doubt anyone at your level or mine are playing those lines

Of course, I would not recommend you try to go into one all the time as Black as it will hinder your play later on when you get stronger. This is a nice surprise weapon

Learn the Semi-Slav and ask @EKAFC for his Winawer Countergambit to avoid the Exchange Variation. The Semi-Slav is probably Black's best chance against d4 if not the NID, but it's never fallen out of fashion.

Why not just play the QGA ? There is little of the pawngrind-fests of the other defenses.

I like the NID, QID, or Bogo against d4+c4.

Against others, (where the NID/QID/Bogo don't apply), I often employ the "Reversed London" (as many on these forums refer to it).

Together, these two approaches can form a practical repertoire (against most non-e4 openings).

Depends on your taste, though ...

I like the slav defence on the move d4 opening.

THE BENONI!

Is anyone able to recommend any books on the semislav then? Or any recommendations against the English? Being a KID player I now will need to learn a response to it, considering c6 could lead to the accelerated panov and I do not like the caro as black.

Play like this to start and avoid the Caro-Kann, and look up St Louis Chess Club Semi-Slav on Youtube, they have 8 and a half hours of longform analysis on it in a 10 part series.
I'll link it here, actually: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbBLZ-pYs8HiN6p-KR8GwCNpHS0o0lvLk

That's fair. The 'bad bishop' in the Advance variation can be traded off by playing like so, did you ever try this variation?

👍