The Queen s Gambit Declined is an opening of great historical importance and Black s fundamental answer to 1 d4. From the very first move Black obtains a firm foothold in the centre, something that White finds extremely hard to undermine. Indeed, Black often bases his entire strategy around this control. The soundness of the Queen s Gambit Declined has never been in question, and its supporters at the highest level include a long list of Grandmasters headed by Kasparov, Kramnik, Karpov and Short, as well as many World Champions from the past.
This book is a further addition to Everyman s best-selling Starting Out series, which has been acclaimed for its original approach to tackling chess openings. Neil McDonald goes back to the basics of the Queen s Gambit Declined, introducing the key moves and ideas, and taking care to explain the reasoning behind them ? something that is often neglected or taken for granted in other texts. In this user-friendly guide, the reader is helped throughout by an abundance of notes, tips and warnings highlighting the vital characteristics of the Queen s Gambit Declined and of opening play in general. Starting Out: Queen s Gambit Declined is a perfect guide for improving players or for those new to this opening.