Closed Game
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| Moves | 1.d4 d5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ECO | D00–D69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Queen's Pawn Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonyms |
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A Closed Game (or Double Queen's Pawn Opening) is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
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. White's most common response is 2.c4, the Queen's Gambit, with the most frequent alternatives being 2.Nf3 and 2.Bf4.
Unlike with the king's pawn openings, where the pawn on e4 is undefended after the first move, the pawn on d4 is protected by White's queen.The slight difference has a tremendous effect on the opening. For instance, whereas the King's Gambit is rarely played today at the highest levels of chess, the Queen's Gambit remains very popular at all levels of play.
Compared with the king's pawn openings, transpositions between variations are more common in Closed Games. Play tends to be more positional compared to lines beginning 1.e4, but there are many sharp tactical lines as well.