How to play against 1.d4
How do you defend against openings other than 1.e4? (The Queen’s Gambit and other openings)
Against most of them you can play the same way.
1. Play in some order 1…d5 2…e6 and 3…Nf6 (1…Nf6 2…e6 and 3…d5 is usually OK or 1…e6 and 2…d5).
2. Develop your King’s Bishop and castle. Other Knight goes to d7, not c6 — you might want to move your c-pawn to c5, so you can open a file for your Rooks.
3. Now you develop your Queen’s Bishop. You can play just 7…b6.
But against the Queen’s Gambit, with a pawn on c4, you can try 7…a6, with the idea, 8…dxc4 9…b5 and then …c5 and …Bb7.
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Here’s a nice Swiss Defence game, which helped Alekhin win the World Championship against
Capablanca.
Click on the pawn on f7 to hide comments; click on the pawn on e7 to see it from Black’s point of view.
4. I DON’T especially recommend playing like this against the Stonewall Attack — White’s attack is too dangerous.
5. But if White doesn’t play 2.c4, you don’t have to play 2…e6. Leave your Bishop free to come out to f5.
6. In fact, if White won’t play c4, you can play …c5 yourself.
7. And against the Stonewall, you have a fine idea in 3…Nc6, threatening both 4…e5 and 4…Nb4
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8.If you play this defence, you should play over these lines and try and learn the ideas:
9. All too complicated? You can, I think, play 1….d5 2…e6 (or 1…e6 and 2…d5) then 3…c5 against anything. You might get an Isolated Queen’s Pawn, but you will get free play for your pieces.