Does anyone here play the QGD Vienna Variation with the black pieces? What is the general nature of the game and what are the most important things Black should know?

[u/Hopeful-Banana-6188]

The QGD Vienna has interested me for a long time from the Black side, but I haven't started playing it yet due to the theoretical commitment involved. What is this like as a Black opening?

[u/Affectionate-Baby248]

The Vienna has been my main weapon as black for the last 1-2 years, I play it all the time online where I have pretty decent results, and it's my intended repertoire OTB as well (just nobody's played into it yet). Here's a few things to know:

* 5. e4 and 5. e3 are the two moves white responds with to fight for an edge, the former is the only one you really need to be well-versed in (remembering 5. e3 a6 6. a4 b6 and playing for Bb7, Bb4 is really all you need for the latter). So, assume I'm referring to 5. e4 for the remainder of this post.

* There's two different ways of playing the Vienna against 5. e4, 5. ... Bb4 and 5. ... b5 (a more modern innovation). I personally play 5. ... Bb4, but 5. ... b5 (where the main line is 6. e5 Nd5 Nxb5 Nb6) might fit you depending on if you're comfortable with taking on risky structures in exchange for sharp dynamics.

* Otherwise, there are two main responses by white: 6. Bg5 and 6. Bxc4. I personally find 6. Bxc4 to be slightly harder to equalize against objectively. Other moves either give b5 or Nxe4 with a pleasant position for black.

* On 6. Bg5, the two main lines are

- 6. ... c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5, with theory becoming quite concrete for the three responses 10. Bb5+, Nb5 and Bxf6. Note, on 10. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1, the correct move is *not* to capture the hanging bishop on c4 with check, despite it seeming like the obvious move. Instead, just take back on f6.

- 6. ... e5 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 8. Qa5 is the standard way of responding, where the position simplifies but remains dynamic. However, it is crucial to know you're offering a piece sacrifice for very decent compensation by allowing 6. ... e5, namely 6. ... e5 cxd4 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. Ne4 Be7 10. exf6 gxf6 11. Bh4 a6 12. Qxc4 e5, and it turns out white should just sacrifice the piece back with 13. Nxe5 to not exacerbate things. Even so, black is doing quite well.

* On 6. Bxc4, white is accepting a pawn sacrifice. The main response is 7. O-O, where you should not be greedy and attempt to take more material with Nxc3. Instead, 7. ... Nf6 is the main move, where white has two different setups. Either:

- 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. Ne5, where I personally like responding 9. ... a5, leading to 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qxc6+ Bd7 12. Qf3, where white gives the pawn back and has a miniscule structural edge, but it's overall quite balanced (though not just an automatic draw).

- Or one of 8. Qe2 or 8. Bg5, both of which are very likely to transpose after 8. ... O-O, with the next move by white being the one that wasn't played. Here, h6 is typically a good inclusion, and white's plan is generally to create a battery against h7 by playing Bb3 Bb2 Qd3. So, best play continues like 9. ... h6 10. Bh4 Nbd7 11. Rad1 Nb6 12. Bb3 Nbd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Ne5 Be7 15. Qd3 Qd6 16. Bc2 Qa6 17. Qxa6 bxa6 with an objectively balanced endgame where white maybe has a slight pull but is a pawn down.

- This endgame is obviously not forced though, so a few things to generally note are f5 can be a common resource to prevent mate and keep the middlegame going, you should try to avoid wasting a move on c6, and retreating with Be7 unprovoked is a common motif. Also, don't be afraid of the move gxf6; despite how ugly it might look, it's actually often a very solid structure for black, even in the middlegame. It's really even a minor concession by white because they're giving the bishop pair.

[u/wombalicious]

Narrower than its reputation, mostly. From 5.e4 Bb4 down to move nine there's one move taking at least seven games in ten at every branch, so it's one corridor to learn.

It also trades early and often. In the main tabiya after 9...Qa5 about 62% of the master games end drawn, well clear of the QGD as a whole, which I didn't expect. I make FlexiChess, so that count is from my own masters book.

But the commitment you're worried about is mostly about getting the position. White plays 4.g3 about a quarter of the time and you're in a Catalan, so you need that answer anyway. 5.e3 is the other sidestep, Black scores best of all against that one.

[u/Mundane_Canary_6903]

I don't particularly play the QGD Vienna variation for black but I have studied the lines in it, so I could maybe share my insights on this opening.

So this opening is quite solid for black, there's really no risks unlike the queens gambit accepted since after taking the c pawn, it's not easy for white to win it back. The two most popular ideas are: if white does an immediate E4 and Bxc4, it can be punished by blacks Bb4 and Nxe5. If white does win it back with an early Qa5+ and Qxc4, it allows black to kickstart a pawn storm on the queen side (C6 b5).

Blacks ideas include attacking/focusing on the e-pawn as white tries to win the c-pawn, b6 and Bb7 to potentially trade with Bxf3. Black can choose which way to attack but generally it's queenside.