The Queen's Gambit Declined: 1.d4 d5 2.c4... Nxd5 begins with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bh4 b6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 (ECO D59). With 98,376 games on record, the patterns below come from the largest practical sample available.
History and Notable Players
It arises from the Queen's Gambit Declined: 1.d4 d5 2.c4... b6. Among the most prolific White practitioners are Petar Velikov (11 games), Arturo Pomar Salamanca (9 games), Bent Larsen (8 games). Black-side regulars include Bojan Kurajica (14 games), Efim Geller (13 games), Boris V Spassky (10 games).
Performance Across Rating Levels
How well the Queen's Gambit Declined: 1.d4 d5 2.c4... Nxd5 works depends on what level you're playing at. The 1200 bracket has 505 games (0.00% of all games at that level); White wins 40.2%, Black 56.6%, 3.2% are drawn. By 1800, popularity is 0.00% and White's score is 43.6% to Black's 49.2%. Among 2500-rated players the line appears in 0.02% of games and draws spike to 14.6%, indicating tight preparation. Positions also become less sharp as level rises (sharpness 0.97 → 0.85).
Move Diversity and Theory Depth
Move choice is far from uniform in the Queen's Gambit Declined: 1.d4 d5 2.c4... Nxd5. At 1200 Elo, the top reply is Bxe7, played 64.5% of the time. There are 3 other moves seeing meaningful share, and 92.2% of games stick to established theory. Entropy: 1.63. By 2500, Bxe7 dominates at 85% of replies; only 3 viable alternatives remain and 99.4% of moves are theory. Entropy drops to 0.80. That entropy collapse is the signature of a line where preparation pays off: at the top, players know the best move and play it.
Common Mistakes
- Neglecting development — It can feel productive to make extra pawn moves early, but falling behind in piece development is what loses most amateur games — especially in open positions where active pieces find squares fast.
- Overextending the attack — Gambits look like permission to throw everything forward. They aren't — every attacking move should improve a piece. Random checks and threats burn the initiative once they fail to coordinate.
Practice on Chessiverse
Ready to try the Queen's Gambit Declined: 1.d4 d5 2.c4... Nxd5 against a bot? Pick an opponent at your level and play a game.
