Queen's Pawn: Krause, Reversed QGD
Queen’s Pawn Opening
Definition
The Queen’s Pawn Opening begins with 1. d4. By advancing the queen’s pawn two squares, White immediately claims central space and opens lines for the dark-squared bishop and the queen.
How it is used in chess
- Gateway to many systems. From 1. d4 Black can reply 1…d5 (closed games) or 1…Nf6 (Indian Defences). This single move can lead to the Queen’s Gambit, the London System, Catalan, King’s Indian, Nimzo-Indian, and dozens of others.
- Strategic character. Positions are often more closed than those arising from 1. e4. Piece play and long-term pawn structures (isolated queen’s pawn, hanging pawns, minority attack, etc.) dominate the middlegame plans.
Strategic & historical significance
1. d4 was popularized in the mid-19th century by players such as Howard Staunton, becoming a mainstay after Wilhelm Steinitz showed the power of positional play. Every World Champion since Emanuel Lasker has employed the move at the highest level.
Illustrative mini-line
After 1. d4 d5 2. c4, White offers the classic Queen’s Gambit, the cornerstone of closed opening theory. If White instead plays 2. Nf3, the game may transpose to the Krause Variation described below.
Interesting facts
- The Queen’s Pawn Opening accounts for roughly half of all master-level games today.
- Bobby Fischer, primarily a 1. e4 player, unveiled 1. d4 in his final match game against Spassky (Reykjavik 1972) to surprise his opponent.
Krause Variation (Queen’s Pawn)
Definition
The Krause Variation arises after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 (or 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4). Named for the Danish master Paul Krause (1889-1953), it is a flexible system that places the light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain before committing the c- or e-pawn.
Main ideas for White
- Early development. Bishop on f4 eyes the sensitive c7/c6 squares and discourages …e6-e5 breaks.
- Flexible center. White can choose between London-style structures (e3, c3) or Queen’s Gambit structures (c4, Nc3).
- Rapid castling. Typical setup: e3, Bd3, Nbd2, 0-0.
Main ideas for Black
- Challenge the bishop with …Bd6 or …Nh5.
- Strike the center by …c5 or …e5, sometimes sacrificing a pawn for activity.
- Kingside fianchetto (…g6, …Bg7) avoiding direct confrontation on the d-file.
Typical move-order trap
If Black plays 3…c5?! 4. dxc5 Nc6 5. Nc3 and 6. e4, White wins time developing while Black recovers the pawn.
Example miniature
After 9…Qb6, White enjoys the bishop pair and a rock-solid center.
Historical note
Krause used the line to upset Rudolf Spielmann at Hamburg 1910. More recently, it has been adopted by grandmasters such as Gata Kamsky and Baadur Jobava as an offbeat yet sound weapon.
Interesting facts
- The bishop-on-f4 motif is so central that modern databases often file the Krause under the London System, although the move order is distinct.
- Magnus Carlsen played a Krause-style setup (with colors reversed!) against Sergey Karjakin in the 2016 World Championship tiebreaks, winning the title.
Reversed Queen’s Gambit Declined (Reversed QGD)
Definition
A Reversed Queen’s Gambit Declined describes any position in which White adopts the typical …d5-…e6-…Nf6-…Be7 structure of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, but with colors reversed. It usually arises from English or Réti move orders, giving White an extra tempo compared to the standard QGD.
Typical move order
After 8. Bf4, White’s pawn chain c4-d4 mirrors Black’s customary QGD chain d5-e6, but White has an extra move.
Strategic themes
- Using the extra tempo. White can accelerate minority-attack plans with b2-b4-b5 or central breaks with e2-e4.
- Symmetrical but not equal. Although the pawn skeleton is mirrored, the extra tempo allows White to claim a small, durable edge.
- Piece placement. White often puts the light-squared bishop on g2 or f4, echoing Black’s most solid QGD set-ups.
Model game
Caruana – Aronian, Saint Louis (Rapid) 2021
The players reached a near-perfect QGD mirror; Caruana gradually exploited his extra tempo to seize the open c-file and win a pawn in the endgame.
Connections to the Krause
If White begins with 1. Nf3 and 2. d4, then plays Bf4, the resulting structure can be viewed simultaneously as a Krause-type system and a Reversed QGD. Thus ECO codes A46–A48 often list the line as “Queen’s Pawn: Krause, Reversed QGD.”
Trivia
- Because the extra tempo is so valuable, many grandmasters choose dynamic setups (King’s Indian or Grünfeld) rather than risk a symmetrical Reversed QGD as Black.
- In computer engine matches at rapid time controls, White scores over 57% in pure Reversed-QGD structures.