Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. Nc3/2...d5

Chigorin variation A00 Closed game → Chigorin variation → 2...Nf6 Indian defence → 2. Nc3 → 2...d5 2...d5 This position is commonly reached from either of move orders 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 or 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5. Black now controls the e4 square with their knight and pawn. White's two main options from this position are both ways to develop their bishop. 3. Bf4 is the Rapport-Jobava London system. From f4 the bishop pressures c7, and White has ideas around making an attack with Nb5. How Black deals with this threat steers the opening of the game. 3...e6 4. Nb5 Na6 with is one line, with the idea to later play ...c6 (kicking White's knight back) and ...Qb6 (to answer Bxa6 without doubling their pawns). Another approach is ...a6 (either immediately, 3...a6, or 3...c5 4. e3 cxd4 5. exd4 a6) which allows Black to develop their knight towards the centre of the board instead. 3. Bg5 is the Richter-Veresov attack. If Black allows it, as after the traditional move 3...Bf5, White's usual idea is to trade bishop for knight and play against doubled pawns, 4. Bxf6 exf6, and they also have ideas of f3 and e4, Qd2 and O-O-O. The main move today is 3...Nd7: this removes the incentive to trade minor pieces because Black can recapture with the knight instead. 3...e6 defends the knight with the queen, but Black has to happy with transposing into a French defence after 4. e5. Black controls e4 twice and White once, so if White plays 3. e4?! anyway, it is a gambit of a pawn: the Hübsch gambit, which may transpose to the Blackmar-Diemer gambit after 3...dxe4. 3. f3?! prepares to play 4. e4 and keep the pawn there. Black can counterattack White's loose d4-pawn with 3...c5 or 3...e6 4. e4 c5. Theory table 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3 4 5 6 7 Richter-Veresov Attack Bg5Nbd7 Jobava London Bf4 Hübsch Gambit e4Nxe4 Queen's Pawn opening, Chigorin Variation Nf3a6 e3c5 Bd3Bg4 Be2c4 Ne5Bxe2 Nxe2e6 Nf4Bb4+ c3Bd6 0-0Nbd7 =+ Nf3g6 Bf4Bg7 e3Nh5 Bg3Nxg3 hxg3Nc6 Bd3Bg4 Qd2Qd7 0-0-0a6 Rde1b5 =+ References Richter-Veresov Attack