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Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...e6/3. Nf3

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Queen's Gambit Declined
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black kinge7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black pawnf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black pawne5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 white pawnd4 white pawne4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 black kingd2 black kinge2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3

Queen's Gambit Declined

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With 3.Nf3, White begins the development of his minor pieces after establishing a pawn center on the first two moves. 3.Nf3 controls important central squares, but unlike 3.Nc3, it does not immediately help to prepare the e4 pawn break. However, it does bring White close to castling kingside, something 3.Nc3 does not. In most QGD lines, White will play both Nc3 and Nf3 anyway; the order is important only if White desires to avoid specific variations.

White's dark-squared bishop will likely go to g5 after Black plays Nf6, but of course this is not possible immediately because of 3...Qxg5. Moving the bishop to a different square on move 3 would simply lose a tempo if it later went on to g5, so it is best to develop a knight here instead. There are sound systems involving Bf4, but it is not wise to commit to a Bf4 system so early. Thus 3.Nc3 and 3.Nf3 are the most sensible options.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3

3
Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav Nf6
...
=
Semi-Slav Defence c6
...
=
Be7
...
=

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References

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