D50 Queen’s Gambit Declined: Modern Variation
D50 holds six named lines, all under the name Queen’s Gambit. It leaves D35 (Queen’s Gambit Declined: Normal Defense) with 4.Bg5. Material is no longer level at the end of two of its lines; the widest gap, one pawn in White’s favour, comes in Queen’s Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Tarrasch Variation. Lines filed under D53 reach one of its named positions by a different move order.
| # | White | Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | d4 | d5 |
| 2 | c4 | e6 |
| 3 | Nc3 | Nf6 |
| 4 | Bg5 |
The move that completes D50
The reference line of D51 plays all of these moves and continues beyond them; D50 is the position reached at 4.Bg5.
- 4.Bg5 The bishop leaves c1 for g5, opening a line for the rook on a1 and the queen on d1, attacking the knight on f6.
Lines filed under D50
All six share their first seven plies, the whole reference line.
| Name | After the shared start | Plies | At the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen’s Gambit Declined: Modern Variation | (the shared start itself) | 7 | |
| Queen’s Gambit Declined: Been-Koomen Variation | 4...c5 | 8 | |
| Queen’s Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Tarrasch Variation | 4...c5 5.cxd5 | 9 | White +1 |
| Queen’s Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Tarrasch Variation, Canal Variation | 4...c5 5.cxd5 Qb6 | 10 | White +1 |
| Queen’s Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Tarrasch Variation, Primitive Pillsbury Variation | 4...c5 5.Nf3 cxd4 6.Qxd4 | 11 | |
| Queen’s Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, Krause Variation | 4...c5 5.Nf3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 e5 7.Ndb5 a6 8.Qa4 | 15 |
The road to D50
- 1.d4 … 2...e6four earlier stops: A40, D00, D06, D30
- 3.Nc3D31 Queen’s Knight Variation
- 3...Nf6D35 Normal Defense
- 4.Bg5D50
The position after 4.Bg5
White has brought out the knight on c3 and bishop on g5; Black the knight on f6. Black could capture with dxc4. Undefended and attacked: the pawn on c4. Black is to move and has 31 legal moves.
Codes that branch off from D50
The reference lines of two other codes leave D50 from the position after 4.Bg5, each with its own moves.
| Code | Moves | Reference line |
|---|---|---|
| D51 | 4...Nbd7 | Queen’s Gambit Declined: Modern Variation, Knight Defense |
| D53 | 4...Be7 | Queen’s Gambit Declined |
Closest boards in other codes
| Code | Line | Differs on |
|---|---|---|
| B14 | Caro-Kann Defense: Panov Attack | four squares: c1, e2, g5, c7 |
| C12 | French Defense, Classical, 4. Bg5 | four squares: c2, e2, c4, e4 |
| D01 | Richter-Veresov Attack | four squares: c2, c4, e6, e7 |
| D31 | Queen’s Gambit Declined: Queen’s Knight Variation | four squares: c1, g5, f6, g8 |
| D37 | Queen’s Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation | four squares: c1, g1, f3, g5 |
| E30 | Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation | four squares: b4, d5, d7, f8 |
| C13 | French Defense: Classical Variation, Burn Variation | five squares: c2, e2, c4, e4, d5 |
Where lines continue from here
Thirty-five named lines filed under other codes pass through the position after 4.Bg5. Besides the codes above, they belong to D52, D54, D56, D57, D61, D63, D66, D67, D68, D69.
Other move orders
- Queen’s Gambit Declined: Modern Variation is also reached inside D53 Queen’s Gambit Declined: Lasker Defense, whose order is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5.