Queen's gambit accepted: holding the pawn.

I know that if black tries to hold onto the pawn white will have an easier time developng in the future and have a stronger hold on the center.  But how exactly does one do that?  I have the basics down, but when black keeps holding onto the pawn and defending the defenders of the pawn now on c4, what does white do?  I have a specific position in mind which seems to occur in some of my games:

U do not have a stronger hold of the center, in fact u have no center control but u did weaken the queens side

actually after b5 you play Nc3 and if he keeps holding things then a4.

You think that position is weird, look at the non-beginner continuation:

Personally, I don't think white is too poorly off if black tries to hold the center.  For one thing, if you are expecting these kinds of moves from your opposition, you could play e3, setting up a trap that might win a number of games against unsuspecting opposition.

what happens if black plays 4.a6? Then what are you going to do? Never underestimate your opponent, that'll lead you to your downfall.

wolfleader: the trap is still in effect 4 ...a6 5: PxP.  If black retakes the pawn, white captures the rook.

Wolfleader: Personally, I think Bb7 is the better option, setting up pressure down the long diagonal, and potentially causing headaches down the line (I think in the long run, it has more prospects than stubbornly holding onto an isolated doubled C4 pawn at all costs).  Regardless, the trap has still worked, as it has become impossible for black to maintain the extra pawn (the very think chasm was still worried about in the first place).  In fact, now it's white with the material edge, and very easy development to boot.

Why you don't accept the gambit ;)

On a sidenote, Wolfleader, I'm not claiming e3 is a panacea.  Personally, I think black's more advisable option in the QGA is to just relinquish the C5 pawn, and prepare C5 with either complete simplified equality, or very good long term prospects against an Isolated D Pawn.  This is a plan which the e3 setup cannot prevent.

Wolfleader: the Queen's Gambit Accepted is perfectly playable, and can give black good play, especially if you like endgames.  The key is not to stubbornly hold onto that pawn.

Allow me to disagree. In the variation presented, White has a mobile pawn center and a 5-4 pawn phalanx in the King's side. Also, Black is slightly behind in development and he has no way of keeping White's King in the center. After O-O and a possible f4, White would have an excellent domination in the center.

While it's true that the Queen's side has been weakened, White has no intention of castling there, and the "weakening" of the Queen's side may be taken as gaining space advantage. The Queen's side pieces would not be superfluous and would have a lot of breathing space to move around and coordinate an attack.

Anyway, I think the idea of accepting the gambit is to tactically coordinate Black's pieces (in defending the c4 pawn) in preparation for an attack there later in the game. If possible, Black must keep White busy to delay White from O-O, keeping the king vulnerable in the center.

(after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4)

First thing : 3.e4 indeed gambits the pawn (though the comensation is huge if Black really wants to hold it). The book move is 3.Nf3 because after 3.e3, 3...e5 ! equalizes (it gives back the pawn, but in good conditions).

The key ideas to remember are : e3 which gives the Bf1 an attack on c4 but leaves the a8-h1 diagonal unobstructed for a future Qf3 that attacks a8 and f7 ; Ne5 in some lines that attacks c4, f7 and also c6 ; and sometimes, b3 (but before Qf3 of course) is useful too.

After that, a sample of what can happen :

Endless and circular.  Seach for "Queen's Gambit Accepted."

"Holding that Pawn," this topic is a dead dog.  So many threads.  Yawn.

I usually play b3 in this position and have had plenty of success.  It will open up the game a lot and create a bunch of sharp lines on the queen's side.  If you like that notion, give it a try.  If not, then Nc3 is the most typical move.

Edit:

Oops. Didn't notice it was posted already.

What's wong with e4?

Black can hold to the pawn, because this move interrupts the f3-a8 diagonal should you play Qf3 at some point.

It's probably playable, but then it is a real gambit.