The Cambridge Springs variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined takes its name from a small town in rural Pennsylvania (population 2,363), and is characterized by the daring move 6…Qa5, which breaks the pin on black’s knight and pins the white knight in a single move. The early Queen sortie also seeks to pressure white’s center immediately. This variation is known for being replete with traps and zaps, and for this reason it’s the kind of defense which appeals to class-level patzers like myself. Having said that, the opening does make an occasional appearance in top level chess now and then, though many GMs do not attempt to play it because of its major flaw: that white can enter an exchange variation of the QGD. For this reason, it is usually employed via the semi-slav move order, however, in order to do this you must be prepared to play main line meran positions as well as face sharp anti-merans etc. The QGD move order is reached after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Nd7 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Qa5, giving us the following position which is the beginning of the Cambridge Springs variation.
Tag: Cambridge Springs
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