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Queen's Gambit Declined (D52)
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Nbd7 5 e3 c6 6 Nf3

Number of games in database: 2067
Years covered: 1892 to 2023
Overall record:
   White wins 39.1%
   Black wins 25.7%
   Draws 35.1%

Popularity graph, by decade

Explore this opening  |  Search for sacrifices in this opening.
PRACTITIONERS
With the White Pieces With the Black Pieces
Pia Cramling  21 games
Max Euwe  13 games
Ernst Gruenfeld  12 games
Aleksey Dreev  31 games
Sergey Smagin  27 games
Efim Bogoljubov  20 games
NOTABLE GAMES [what is this?]
White Wins Black Wins
Capablanca vs Alekhine, 1927
Capablanca vs Alekhine, 1927
Spielmann vs J Mieses, 1910
Capablanca vs Alekhine, 1927
Karpov vs Kasparov, 1985
Alekhine vs Euwe, 1935
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 page 1 of 83; games 1-25 of 2,067  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. A Hodges vs Lasker 0-1461892Match seriesD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
2. Burn vs Schiffers 1-0451897BerlinD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
3. K Walbrodt vs Tarrasch ½-½601898ViennaD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
4. J Bendiner vs S R Wolf 0-1261904Vienna Chess Club 10 min gameD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
5. Marshall vs Teichmann 1-0581904Cambridge SpringsD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
6. A Hodges vs J F Barry 1-0231904Cambridge SpringsD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
7. Schlechter vs Teichmann  ½-½301904Cambridge SpringsD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
8. Swiderski vs G Marco  ½-½22190414th DSB Congress, CoburgD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
9. M Brody vs Von Bardeleben 0-137190414th DSB Congress, CoburgD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
10. O C Mueller vs F J Lee  ½-½381904LondonD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
11. Teichmann vs L Van Vliet  ½-½171904LondonD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
12. H W Shoosmith vs O C Mueller  1-0301904LondonD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
13. Swiderski vs Von Bardeleben 1-069190414th DSB Congress, CoburgD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
14. A J Mackenzie vs O C Mueller 1-0231904LondonD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
15. L Van Vliet vs O C Mueller  1-0521904LondonD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
16. A J Mackenzie vs W Napier  0-1441904LondonD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
17. H E Atkins vs R C MacDonald  1-0311904British ChampionshipD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
18. J E Manlove vs F E Hamond  0-1221904BCF-ch 1st First Class CD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
19. W P MacBean vs C H Sherrard  1-0371904BCF-ch 1st First Class BD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
20. C Jaffe vs E F Schrader  0-14019047th American Chess Congress, St. LouisD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
21. Salwe vs J Mieses  0-1561905MatchD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
22. W Napier vs Teichmann 0-1241905MatchD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
23. Burn vs Teichmann  ½-½191905OstendD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
24. Teichmann vs H Wolf 1-0311905OstendD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
25. R K Kieseritsky vs Rubinstein 0-1331905Barmen Hauptturnier-AD52 Queen's Gambit Declined
 page 1 of 83; games 1-25 of 2,067  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Dec-11-05  Averageguy: After 6...Qa5 is this a Cambridge Springs Defense?
Dec-11-05  Dudley: Yes it is. Tim Taylor, the guy who caused a near meltdown at Chess Life with a racy piece on his Hungarian chess adventure, had this defense prepared to use in Europe, but said he never got a chance to use it. Everyone would avoid it by some earlier diversion. Exchange line?
Apr-11-07  gambitfan: 4... ♘bd7 is very important bnecause we might be tempted to play 4... ♗e7?! (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...)

The present line aims at ... ♕a5 followed by ... ♗b4

Apr-11-07  gambitfan: 4... ♘bd7 is very important because we might be tempted to play 4... ♗e7?! (Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, Bd3 line (D66) ...) which is a boring old fashioned line

The present line aims at ... ♕a5 followed by ... ♗b4

Apr-11-07  KingG: <Tim Taylor, the guy who caused a near meltdown at Chess Life with a racy piece on his Hungarian chess adventure, had this defense prepared to use in Europe, but said he never got a chance to use it. Everyone would avoid it by some earlier diversion. Exchange line?>

With the move order 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6, i would expect most people to play the exchange variation, which surely gives White one of the most comfortable advantages in main-line theory after the plan of Ne2, followed by f3, etc. If i was a QGD player, i would probably try and avoid it with 3...Be7 instead, which prevents that particular plan.

Apr-12-07  gambitfan: By the way, what is the name of the line continuing with ... ♕a5 and ... ♗b4 ?
Apr-12-07  KingG: <By the way, what is the name of the line continuing with ... Qa5 and ... Bb4 ?> Cambridge Springs variation.
Oct-31-07  erad1288: This opening is the beast. There are so many ways for white to go wrong. The only thing about this opening is that it will take a long time before black's light squared bishop sees any light. If black can afford to keep the bishop pair, he/she has good prospects of netting a point in the endgame.
Oct-31-07  erad1288: One more thing, does anyone know how to approach this line as black? 1.d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 c6 6. Nf3 Qa5 7. Nd2 Bb4 8. Qc2 dxc4 9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. Nxc4 .... is it better to try to opt out with Qc7 and try and hold the bishop pair at a cost of having a morbid light squared bishop or should black exchange Bxc3+ bxc3 with Qc7 and c5 allowing the bishop to come out much sooner?
Aug-16-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Chessical: In the <7. cxd5> main line of the Cambridge Springs Defence, the following position has arisen at master level:


click for larger view

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

Is it possible to take the <a3> pawn with impunity? I can find no game in which this has taken place. The following which is a rough sketch is given in the hope of encouraging further discussion:

<15.Qxa3> 16. c4 N5f6 17. c5 Nd5!?(<17... bxc5> seems to be an inferior try 18. dxc5 Nd5 19. Be4 Rb8 20. Bxd5 exd5 21. Qxd5) 18. c6 N7f6 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. Ne5 Qd6 21. Rfe1 Nd5 22. Be4 a5 23. Rb1

and White has undoubted pressure for his pawn, but no immediately decisive blow.

Aug-22-09  Swindler: <Chessical>: The following game has almost the same position, though White has retaken on d4 with his c-pawn rather than his e-pawn: Gligoric vs D Blagojevic, 2001 Black seems to get a comfortable game with an extra pawn.
Jun-15-10  Minty: Decent material on the Cambridge Springs seems to be hard to come by. I'm having difficulty with one line which is supposed to be good for black - good enough that nobody seems to have bothered analysing it in any detail - but I'm failing to see how black is doing well at all.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 c6 6. Nf3 Qa5 7. Bd3

Neil McDonald then gives 7... Ne4 8. Bxe4 dxe4 9. Ne5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Bb4, when black is supposed to be better because he can 'attack the loose pawns on the queenside', but after 11. O-O, I really don't see how black is doing well at all.

Black has an awful bishop on c8, and giving up the dark squared bishop (...Bxc3) to wreck white's queenside structure looks suicidal with all the weak dark squares in black's camp.

I'd like to play the cambridge springs, but I'm really not convinced by this line. Someone help me out here.

Jun-30-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  gezafan: <Minty: Decent material on the Cambridge Springs seems to be hard to come by. I'm having difficulty with one line which is supposed to be good for black - good enough that nobody seems to have bothered analysing it in any detail - but I'm failing to see how black is doing well at all. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 c6 6. Nf3 Qa5 7. Bd3

Neil McDonald then gives 7... Ne4 8. Bxe4 dxe4 9. Ne5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Bb4, when black is supposed to be better because he can 'attack the loose pawns on the queenside', but after 11. O-O, I really don't see how black is doing well at all.

Black has an awful bishop on c8, and giving up the dark squared bishop (...Bxc3) to wreck white's queenside structure looks suicidal with all the weak dark squares in black's camp.

I'd like to play the cambridge springs, but I'm really not convinced by this line.>

Minty raises some good points. I tried to analyze the position and it seems to me, too, that white is better.

After 11...Bxc3 12.bxc3 Black's dark square weaknesses and white's control of the d file seem to outweigh white's queenside pawn weaknesses.

Black can't capture the pawns on c3 or e5 because of the mate threat. If black castles white plays Be7 followed by Qd6.

The best line I could come up with is for black to kick the bishop with h6 and g5, play Bd7 and try to castle queenside. But black still has a hemmed in bishop and weak dark squares.

Is McDonald wrong? My 50 year old opening book says black is better after 9...Bb4. Perhaps this is the correct way to play it.

Oct-07-14  ljfyffe: Also, arrived at through the Slav: 1d4 d5 2c4 c6 3Nf3 Nf6 4Nc3 e6 5Bg5 Nbd7 6e3 Qa5..

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