Closed Game

Closed Game

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Moves	1.d4 d5
ECO	D00–D69
Parent	Queen's Pawn Game
Synonyms	Double Queen's Pawn Opening Double Queen's Pawn Game Close Opening

The Closed Games are a family of chess openings beginning with the moves:

1. d4 d5

After 1.d4, when Black maintains symmetry by replying 1...d5, the result is a Closed Game. White's most common response, particularly at the top level, is 2.c4, the Queen's Gambit, usually met with 2...e6, the (traditional or "orthodox") Queen's Gambit Declined; 2...c6, the Slav Defense; or 2...dxc4, the Queen's Gambit Accepted. White's most frequent alternative to 2.c4 is 2.Nf3.

When written in lowercase, the term closed game refers to a chess position where ranks, files, and diagonals are closed, and tending to lead to more strategic gameplay, with less emphasis on tactics. The usage of Closed Games is occasionally limited to these lines without c4; this relates to the closed nature of the resulting positions where White declines to offer any pawn exchanges. Some lines where White plays d4 but not c4, such as the London System, are classified as opening systems. Such systems are of a highly transpositional nature; they feature high variability in move order and are less forcing than 2.c4 and 1.e4, caused by avoiding the pawn tension resulting from c2-c4, though Black can choose to introduce tension, particularly via c7-c5.

1...d5 is Black's traditional response to 1.d4, and 1.d4 d5 achieved widespread popularity by the early 20th century as players with White began to try other first moves than 1.e4 more often. It remains the second most popular response to 1.d4; moreover, though 1...Nf6 (the Indian Defence) is now more common, it frequently ends up transposing to the Queen's Gambit or another Closed Game.

Analysis

The move 1.d4 establishes center control and permits the development of the queen's bishop. Black's symmetrical response 1...d5 does the same. Compared with the king's pawn openings, transpositions between variations are more common in queen's pawn openings. Play after 1.d4 also tends to be more positional compared to play after 1.e4, though there are many sharp tactical lines as well. These tendencies are related to the fact that after 1.e4, the e-pawn is undefended after the first move, while after 1.d4, the d-pawn remains protected by White's queen. This slight difference has a tremendous effect on the opening. For example, White often plays the solid move e3 at some point after 1.d4; playing e2-e4 in one move is more difficult to support after 1.d4 than playing d2-d4 in one move is after 1.e4 because the pawn on d4 is supported by White's queen, though eventually playing d3 after 1.e4 is not uncommon, particularly since the late 20th century, such as in the Modern Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3, or other move orders).

The Queen's Gambit, 2.c4, is the main move, immediately introducing tension in the form of the threat of Black capturing with ...dxc4 or White doing so with ...cxd5, but another possibility for White is to play an opening system such as the London System, Colle System, or Stonewall Attack. White develops aiming for a particular formation without great concern over how Black chooses to defend. For example, the London System is characterized by the moves Bf4, Nf3, e3, c3, and Nd2, in any order. Because of the lower need for memorization of opening theory due to lower tension in the position, these systems are easy to learn and often seen in casual play, but are rarely used by professionals because Black is regarded as being able to equalize fairly easily, although Ding Liren used the London to defeat Ian Nepomniachtchi in the sixth game of the 2023 World Chess Championship. White may instead adopt a more flexible approach, however, rather than committing to the same initial moves.

2.c4

Main article: Queen's Gambit

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Position after 2.c4

The most frequent Closed Game is the Queen's Gambit, which is entered when White plays 2.c4, or later by transposition, often with 2.Nf3 and then 3.c4. While the King's Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4) is rarely played today at the highest levels of chess, the Queen's Gambit remains very popular at all levels of play.

Black can play 2...dxc4, the Queen's Gambit Accepted, giving up the center for free development and the chance to try to give White an isolated queen pawn with a subsequent ...c5 and ...cxd4. White will get active pieces and possibilities for the attack. More frequently, Black does not capture the c-pawn. 2...e6, the Queen's Gambit Declined, and 2...c6, the Slav Defense, are two popular ways for Black to decline the pawn. Both of these moves lead to an immense forest of variations that can require a great deal of opening study to play well. Among the many possibilities in the Queen's Gambit Declined are the Classical Defense, Lasker Defense, Tartakower Defense, Cambridge Springs Defense, Tarrasch Defense, Semi-Tarrasch Defense, and Semi-Slav Defense.

Replies to the Queen's Gambit other than 2...dxc4, 2...c6, and 2...e6 are uncommon:

• 2...Nc6, the Chigorin Defense, is playable but rare. It develops a piece but does not support the d-pawn and blocks Black from pushing the c-pawn, seen in many lines of the three common defenses.
• 2...c5, the Austrian Defense or Symmetrical Defense, is the most direct challenge to the gambit, but most opening theoreticians believe that Black cannot equalize with it.
• 2...Bf5, the Baltic Defense, develops Black's queen bishop early in order to avoid confining it behind a pawn after a later ...e6. Although it is not trusted by most elite players, some still occasionally play it.
• 2...e5, the Albin Countergambit, has dangerous pitfalls such as the famous Lasker Trap, but it is generally considered too risky for top-level tournament play.
• 2...Nf6, the Marshall Defense, is well met by 3.cxd5 and very rarely seen in grandmaster play.

2.Nf3

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Position after 2.Nf3

2.Nf3, the second most common reply to 2.c4, reaches a position also frequently reached via 1.Nf3 after 1...d5 2.d4, and is most often met with 2...Nf6, a flexible move, though Black has several other options, which frequently transpose. 3.c4, transposing to the Queen's Gambit, is common. This has certain effects, like preventing White from entering the main line of the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined and avoiding the Albin Countergambit.

White's alternative third moves include:

• 3.Bf4, the London System, where White plans e3, c3, Nbd2.
• 3.Bg5, the Torre Attack, similar to the London.
• 3.e3, often leading to the Colle System or the Stonewall Attack.
• 3.g3, which may transpose to the Catalan Opening.

Though 2...e6 and 2...c6 have little independent significance from 2...Nf6, Black can try to introduce tension with 2...c5. White often plays 3.c4 in reply, a position that can also be reached from the Austrian Defense (2...c5) and which often transposes to a Tarrasch Defense (2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5). Alternatively, there are the quiet 3.e3 and 3.c3, as well as 3.dxc5, a reversed Queen's Gambit Accepted with White having played the extra move Nf3.

White's second move alternatives

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h Jobava London: 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4 a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h Blackmar Gambit: 2.e4

There are some other occasionally seen moves:

• 2.Nc3, where Black tends to reply 2...Nf6 because of the threat of 3.e4; 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 would then be met with 4...Nxe4. The resulting position often leads to the Richter–Veresov Attack (3.Bg5) or to the Jobava London System (3.Bf4).
• 2.Bf4, the Accelerated London System, which became slightly more common in the 21st century. If White later plays Nf3 (which is often), it transposes to the regular London System.
• 2.Bg5, the Hodgson Attack (also known as the Levitsky Attack or the Pseudo-Trompowsky Attack), also has become slightly more common.

There is also 2.e4, the Blackmar Gambit, usually leading to the Blackmar–Diemer Gambit (2...dxe4 3.Nc3, intending 4.f3), a much riskier and much rarer pawn sacrifice than 2.c4. It has the main line 3...Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3. Alternatively, Black can play:

• 2...e6, transposing to the main line of the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5).
• 2...c6, transposing to the main line of the Caro-Kann Defense (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5).
• 2...Nc6, less common than 2...e6 and 2...c6, transposing to a common line in the Nimzowitsch Defense (1.e4 Nc6).
• 2...c5, a relatively unexplored countergambit.

In these lines, Black declines the gambited e-pawn, which White offered willingly.

See also

• Open Game (1.e4 e5)
• Semi-Open Game (1.e4 moves other than 1...e5)
• Semi-Closed Game (1.d4 moves other than 1...d5)
• Flank opening (1.c4, 1.Nf3, 1.f4, and others)
• Irregular chess opening

References

• Cox, John (2005). Dealing with d4 Deviations: Fighting the Trompowsky, Torre, Blackmar-Diemer, Stonewall, Colle and Other Problem Openings. London: Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-399-8.
• de Firmian, Nick (1999). Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14. Random House Puzzles & Games. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.