Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defense

ECO D38-D39intermediate

The Ragozin Defense fuses two great openings: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 gives Black the solid pawn structure of the Queen's Gambit Declined together with the pin and dark-square play of the Nimzo-Indian. The main line here runs 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 c5, an immediate fight for the centre. It has been a top-level main line for the last decade, played by world champions on both sides.

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Main line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4

Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.

Move by move

The first 12 moves of the main line, explained one at a time. Every move of every variation is annotated like this inside the trainer — this page shows the opening moves so you can judge the explanations before signing up.

1.d4 White advances the pawn to d4, staking a claim right in the center of the board and giving the bishops and queen room to develop.
1...Nf6 Black brings the knight to f6, a great central square. It helps control the e4 square and gets a piece into the game quickly.
2.c4 White pushes the pawn to c4, the Queen's Gambit! This second center pawn puts pressure on Black's side and opens lines for the pieces.
2...e6 Black steps the pawn to e6, supporting the center and opening a path for the dark-squared bishop to come out later.
3.Nf3 The knight jumps to f3, a strong central square. It guards against Black's pieces entering and prepares to support the center.
3...d5 Black advances the pawn to d5, meeting White's center head-on. Now both sides have pawns in the middle and the fight begins!
4.Nc3 The knight develops to c3, putting pressure on Black's d5 pawn and helping White control the center with more pieces.
4...Bb4 Black moves the bishop all the way to b4, pinning White's c3 knight against the king. This is the Ragozin Defense — an active and tricky setup!
5.Bg5 White develops the bishop to g5, eyeing Black's f6 knight. By threatening that knight, White puts pressure on Black's defenses around the center.
5...dxc4 Black captures the pawn on c4 with the d5 pawn. Black grabs a pawn and forces White to spend time winning it back.
6.e4 White pushes the pawn to e4, grabbing more space in the center. With two pawns in the middle, White has a strong central presence.
6...c5 Black strikes with the pawn to c5, challenging White's big center. Black wants to keep the game lively and not let White control everything.

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Win rates by rating

Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.

Rating	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	Position after
400-600	69	47.8%	1.4%	50.7%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
600-800	39	53.8%	5.1%	41%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4
800-1000	337	61.7%	2.7%	35.6%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4
1000-1200	133	59.4%	3%	37.6%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4
1200-1400	36	50%	2.8%	47.2%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 c5
1400-1600	68	39.7%	8.8%	51.5%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 c5
1600-1800	941	56.9%	3.9%	39.2%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4
1800-2000	709	58%	2%	40.1%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4
2000-2200	61	26.2%	11.5%	62.3%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 c5
2200-2400	64	29.7%	7.8%	62.5%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 c5

Most played continuations (1600-1800 rating)

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4:

h6 — played 35.4% of the time (White wins 52.2%, draws 3.9%, Black wins 43.9%)
Bxc3+ — played 31.5% of the time (White wins 57.1%, draws 4%, Black wins 38.9%)
Be7 — played 11.7% of the time (White wins 62.7%, draws 6.4%, Black wins 30.9%)

Related openings

Frequently asked questions

What makes the Ragozin different from a normal QGD?

The bishop. In a classical QGD Black develops it to e7, passive but safe. On b4 it pins the c3 knight, fights for e4, and threatens to trade itself for the knight and damage White's structure — the Nimzo-Indian idea. The cost is that Black's queenside is looser and White gets active tries like 5.Bg5 and 5.cxd5.

Is the Ragozin hard to learn?

Moderately. It is more forcing than the classical QGD and there are several critical branches to know, but the underlying ideas transfer directly from the Nimzo-Indian. Players who already meet 3.Nc3 with ...Bb4 usually find the Ragozin natural, since it is the same plan with the d-pawn already committed.

How does White meet the Ragozin?

The critical tries are 5.Bg5, pinning the f6 knight and preparing e4 as in this line, and 5.cxd5 exd5, heading for a Carlsbad structure with a minority attack. Both are fully respectable. Quieter setups with 5.Qa4+ or 5.e3 exist but tend to let Black equalise comfortably.

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