Queen's Gambit Declined

also known as: QGD · 2...e6

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6

Named after

Not an eponym — Black declines the offered pawn, holding the center with 2...e6.

Origin

The classical main line of 1.d4 since the Steinitz era; the orthodox defense was THE battlefield of the 1920s–30s championship matches.

The story

Declining the gambit is the classical school's creed in a single move: keep the pawn duo d5/e6, concede nothing, accept a passive bishop as the price of soundness. Generations of world champions trusted it with their titles — Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine played the Orthodox QGD against each other so relentlessly that 1920s newspapers complained chess was solved. It was where Capablanca's machine-like technique and Alekhine's deep preparation met head-on in 1927, thirty-plus games of the same opening producing one of the tensest matches ever played.

Why it matters

The most trusted defense in chess history: an unbreakable central formation whose small concession — the c8 bishop's freedom — generates a century of plans (the Tartakower, Lasker and Cambridge Springs systems each "solve" it differently). Still the bedrock of elite repertoires.

Notable games

• Capablanca–Alekhine, WCh 1927 (game 34 decided the title in a QGD)
• Kasparov–Karpov, Moscow 1984–85 (the endless QGD siege)