Solid Repertoire For Beginners Against 1. d4 (Black)?

Great question, OP! I’m sort of struggling with the same question.

Like you, I’ve rediscovered chess after a long period of absence. The meta game had changed and it felt like a perfect opportunity to re-program myself. For white I chose the London system and I love it. It provides a great structure and is versatile. I can grab wins with a sudden tactical attack on the queenside or, after castling queenside go for all sort of kingside attacks. For black I chose to learn the Caro-Kann as the main response to 1.e4.  Where in London, because of the setup and playing as white, it’s rather difficult to blunder, playing  Caro-Kann was a more challenging journey. As the reactive player, black, requires a lot more opening knowledge.

Which posed the question what to do about 1.d4 as black?  

I chose the Englund gambit. Why? First of all, I didn’t want another ‘system’ or ‘family of openings’. I’m investing a lot of time on studying London and Caro-Kann (and all variations!), I didn’t want to add another rabbit hole to my chess homework. In the Englund (main line with 3. …Qe7) you only need to know just a handful of lines and you’re good to go. Possible outcomes: A decent amount of your games (especially at your level) will just be instant wins. Occasionally, you will face a player that knows the opening and you will lose. The rest is open for the taking. What I like about this opening is that even when your opponent doesn’t fall for the trap, which is most of the time, his advantage is only +1 or +2. With his structure and plans completely destroyed, there is a game to be played in a position unfamiliar to both.

In summary: No need to study, just 10-20% instant wins and 80% of games without preparation for both, just a game to be played on instinct and tactics.

Just to be  clear, I’m sharing my own experience. Englund Gambit is not a viable option at the higher rating levels, that’s why I’m looking into alternatives. It is still winning for me, at 1400 rapid, though it probably shouldn’t. Take this a suggestion, not a recommendation.

For the Tarrasch the two defeats of Kasparov by Karpov are always mentioned. In the first game shown earlier in thread, Karpov produced one of the best endgame performances ever seen in a World championship game. Even then Kasparov missed several, increasingly study like defenses in the endgame. 17...d4 probably equalises fully for black, and as played black's position was still playable.

In the second game shown, which I think was the earlier game in the match, black didn't have many opening problems at all. 35...Rc2 was an outright blunder in an equal position, Kasparov intended 35...QxQ 36RxQ Rc2 but accidentally moved the rook first.

my variation after 1.d4 after about 10 moves

1.c5! Old Benoni Defence and then treat it like a Queens Gambit

Stop pretending you know the old benoni. You know the first move. Congrats.

Hi, I’m mostly a beginner (rated ~900 rapid), but I like to have prepared a solid and simple repertoire for my openings. I usually play 1. d4 into the London for white, since it is pretty simple, I know the basic ideas of the opening, and it gets me into a playable middle-end game.

For black, I like playing the French against 1. e4, but have struggled to find something that fits me against 1. d4. I know there are things like the QGD/Slav/Semi-Slav against the QG (I usually play one of the three, though I feel like the Slav/Semi-Slav is much more simple in terms of development and middle-end game play), but I rarely, if ever, face the Queen’s Gambit in my games.

What would be a solid and simple opening against all 1. d4 openings (QG, London, etc.)? I have experimented with the Dutch and King’s Indian Defense a bit, but I feel like they aren’t really my style and also feel a bit complicated/risky for my level. I was also thinking maybe a going for a Queen’s Indian or Nimzo Indian route, though I have heard that they are also a bit complicated and can only be played against certain setups. Whenever I try to just play basic opening principles, my opponent usually gains the advantage and makes the position much more difficult to equalize and gain and actual advantage for black. It helps to have some solid ideas to base my openings on for me.

The only thing I could think of that might fit my style would be the Horwitz Defense (1. d4, e6; similar to the French which I play against 1. e4), which can transpose into the French, QGD, or other. Though I have not played it in my games because it seems a bit sketchy, especially against openings such as the London where you don’t immediately put 2 pawns straight in the center. What opening against all 1. d4 setups might be good for me and that I can/should try out?

Thanks.

(Edit: For context, I came back to chess after stopping for a few years, and it's been a few months since I returned to this game. I also sometimes like to test some openings against bots to see generally how games might go using them.)

I play Nimzo and Queens as I really love their set up. Queens Indian is probably my fav opening of all time to be honest so far. Thats a route I would definitely recommend. At your level, Queens Gambit is like never played so you could potentially try Accelerated Queens Indian? Maybe? But the QID can be played against many set ups like the London system. I hope this helps.