Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...e6/3. Nc3/3...Nf6/4. Bg5/4...Be7/5. e3/5...O-O/6. Nf3/6...Nbd7

Queen's Gambit Declined D60-69 Orthodox variation 7. Rc1 · Main line 7. Qc2 · Rubinstein attack 7. cxd5 7. Bd3 · Botvinnik variation 6...Nbd7 · Classical variation With this move Black enters the Classical variation. This is an older and well-studied variation that has stood the test of time, as it is still played to this day.https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=ge&year=2020&playercomp=either&opening=&eco=D61 Due to its age, White has developed many responses to it over time. /7. Rc1/ is the main line, developing the rook to the to-be-opened c-file. /7. Qc2/ is the Rubinstein attack. White develops the queen to watch over the b1-h7 diagonal. /7. cxd5/ releases the tension from the center and transposes into an exchange variation. /7. Bd3/ is the Botvinnik variation, in which Black gains a few tempi on White's bishop with 7...cxd5 and, later on, Nb6. History The classical variation has been played all the way back in the late 1800's and has been deployed by and against the likes of Capablanca, Lasker, Alekhine, Kasparov and many more. Theory table Main line 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. O-O Nxc3 12. Rxc3 e5 13. dxe5 Henneberger variation 7. ... a6 8. c5 c6 9. Bd3 e5 10. dxe5 Ne8 Rubinstein variation 7. Qc2 c5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5 7. ... ... 8. Rd1 Qa5 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 Botvinnik variation 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 c5 9. O-O a6 10. a4 cxd4 11. exd4 Nb6 12. Bb3 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 7. ... Nxd5 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 References https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1001870 Skipworth vs Bird www.chessgames.com 31 December 2025 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1261680 Bernstein vs Capablanca www.chessgames.com 31 December 2025 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1007985 Alekhine vs Lasker www.chessgames.com 31 December 2025 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1070188 Kasparov vs Portisch www.chessgames.com 31 December 2025 See also