Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit is a course in pawn structures. Learn one chapter at a time and you will recognise these positions for the rest of your chess life.

1. FoundationWeeks one to two

   Goal. Know why the c4-pawn is not really a gambit, and have one healthy setup against each reply.

   • Why 2...dxc4 does not win a pawn: after 3.e3 b5? 4.a4 c6 5.axb5 cxb5 6.Qf3 the rook on a8 is hanging on the long diagonal.
   • The Exchange setup against the Declined: Nc3, cxd5, Bg5, e3, Bd3, Qc2, Nge2 and O-O. Nearly the same eight moves every game.
   • The four replies you will meet most: 2...e6 (Declined), 2...c6 (Slav), 2...dxc4 (Accepted) and 2...Nc6 (Chigorin).
   DrillPlay twenty games with the Exchange Variation. One structure, one plan, repeated until it is automatic.
   Common mistakePlaying cxd5 at random in other positions. The Exchange is a commitment: you get a clear plan, and Black gets the e-file and a free hand on the kingside.
   Move on whenYou can reach the Exchange setup against any Black move order, and you know what to do against 2...dxc4.
2. StructureWeeks three to eight

   Goal. Understand the Carlsbad and the isolated d-pawn, the two structures most chapters lead to.

   • The Carlsbad skeleton and what is missing from it: neither side has a c-pawn on its own file. White has a2 and b2 against a7, b7 and c6.
   • The isolated d-pawn from both sides: yours in the Accepted, Black's in the Tarrasch. The same squares matter in both, d5 and the square in front of the pawn.
   • The knight to e2 rather than f3 in the Carlsbad: it keeps f3 free for the pawn and can still reach g3 or f4.
   DrillSet up the Carlsbad and play only the minority attack: Rab1, b4, a4, b5, bxc6. Do it ten times against an engine and watch the backward pawn appear.
   Common mistakeStarting the minority attack before the pieces are placed. Rab1 and Qc2 come first, then the pawns.
   Move on whenYou can draw the Carlsbad and the isolani from memory and name both sides' plans in each.
3. PlansMonths two to five

   Goal. Choose between plans in the same structure.

   • Plan A in the Carlsbad, the minority attack: the deep dive walks through it move by move.
   • Plan B, f3 and e3–e4: Botvinnik's choice in the model game, and the right one when Black has stopped b4 with ...a5.
   • With the isolated pawn: when to attack, when to push d4–d5, and why Kramnik declined it altogether in the model game.
   DrillTake the position after 11.Rab1 and play each Carlsbad plan once against an engine. Note which one it defends worst.
   Common mistakeSwitching plans halfway through the pawn moves. Pieces can change their minds; pawns cannot come back.
   Move on whenYou choose your plan from where Black's pieces are, not from habit.
4. MasteryOngoing

   Goal. Cover the rest of the 1.d4 d5 landscape and the endgames that follow.

   • The sharp replies: the Albin, the Chigorin and the Schara Gambit. Each costs Black something, and each punishes a careless White player.
   • The Semi-Slav and the Cambridge Springs, which this course only meets in the deviations.
   • Rook endgames with a weak pawn on a half-open file. Many Carlsbad games end there.
   DrillPlay through twenty Carlsbad games by Botvinnik or Karpov, covering the moves and guessing each one.
   Common mistakeNeglecting the Slav because the Declined is more common in books. In the archive the two are played almost equally often.
   Move on whenYou have a prepared answer to every second move Black can make.