Hi All,

Just wondered if any of you more experienced players had any general advice, insights, etc. about how/when you started playing Queen's pawn openings.

I've read a lot of articles that recommend that beginners focus exclusively on 1.e4 until they have a good grasp of playing open games and I've been doing that for the past few years. Although I will continue to play open games predominantly, I feel like I'm ready to begin testing the waters with the occasional closed game.

As black I play the French Defense, which tends to lead to a locked pawn center and I play the Nimzo and Queen's Indian against 1.d4, so hopefully some of this experience will carry over.

One thing that seems a bit intimidating is that there is such a wide variety of defenses commonly played against 1.d4, it seems that to play it effectively, one must devote a lot of time to studying the various openings. I'd prefer not to get completely bogged down in that as there are so many other facets of the game to work on. Maybe I'm overestimating that.

So, any thoughts on an approach?

In my opinion, you're overestimating it, but it may just be that my repertoire doesn't allow black as many options. Honestly, I feel like black has way more suitable and annoying options against 1. e4. I'm not sure what your skill level is, but if you're ~1800-2000 or above, then check out "1. d4: A Complete Grandmaster Repertoire" by Boris Avrukh. Part 1 is out, Part 2 should be out in July.

I'd add that white has less 'suitable and annoying options' himself by playing 1. d4

If you've got a sound basis, switching over shouldn't pose too many problems. In the d4-waters, the moves are less 'etched in stone' than in e4-territory. "Many roads lead to Rome" applies to a good number of the openings..

Thanks for the replies!

Abba, I don't have an OTB rating, but I'm about 1650 on my regular correspondence site. Thanks for recommending the Avrukh book. I may check it out down the road a bit.

Perseus,

I think you hit the nail on the head. With e4 games, it seems one's moves are often dictated to some degree by potential tactics. I expect there will be less of that in most d4 lines and I'm going to try to use my experiments with 1.d4 as a chance to focus on the positional aspect of the game.

As White, you will probably need to know two different openings: One against 1. ...d5 and one against 1. ...Nf6.

Since you have experience with the Nimzo and Queen's Indian, 1. ...Nf6 shouldn't be as much of a problem. Just watch out for the King's Indian, which is an entirely different animal.

As for 1. ...d5, 2. Nf3 seems to be less variation-heavy than c4, but still makes logical sense and is a perfectly fine opening. If I may, check out either the Colle-Zukertort Opening or the Torre Attack for more info on 2. Nf3.

2. c4 is more commonly played, and Black can either choose the QGD (2. ...e6) or the Slav Defense (2. ...c6). Knowing how to respond to both will be very helpful.

Thanks, granturismo4ad! Very helpful. I hadn't thought about 2.Nf3 and that might be a good way to avoid some of the complex Indian lines. I know that I don't like facing 3.Nf3 as Black as it forces me out of my preferred Nimzo.

I've considered checking out David Rudel's "Zuke Em" book on the Colle-Zukertort, probably coupled with Richard Palliser's "Starting Out: d Pawn Attacks", which also covers the C-Z, along with the Barry Attack and 150 Attack. Between those 3 openings and those 2 books, you've got a pretty complete repertoire for white against any possible response to 1. d4.

But for now, I'm sticking with 1. e4 and focusing on other areas of my game instead of spending a ton of time on openings.

--Fromper

By all means play it! If you are rated below 2000, it doesn't matter which opening you select (I played 1.Nc3 or 1...Nc6 and got to over 2000 USCF).

Since you play predominantly e6 systems as Black, you may want to look there first for the White side (where White plays e3). Torre, Zuke'em (NO COLLE!), London system are all excellent with your experience. The key is to play systems you understand.

Bela

Thanks again! You've given me a lot of good ideas to work with.

Analysis is about imbalances and tactics. Tactics are about targets and pattens.

Good luck!