Baltic Defense

The Baltic Defense, 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Bf5, tackles the main strategic problem of the Queen's Gambit Declined at once. Instead of shutting the c8-bishop in with ...e6, Black develops it immediately to f5. From there it watches e4 and makes White's central advance e2-e4 harder to arrange. The resulting setup resembles the London System with colors reversed. Like the Slav, Chigorin and Albin, it is one of Black's second-move alternatives to 2...e6, and it shares the ECO code D06 with them.

The drawback is that d5 is defended only by the queen. If White exchanges with cxd5, Black cannot recapture with a pawn and so loses the pawn control of e4 that ...Bf5 was meant to support. The bishop's departure from c8 also leaves b7 exposed, which is why Qb3 is a recurring idea. It strikes at b7 and d5 together and forces Black to spend time defending them. The engine regards cxd5, Qb3 and Nf3 as White's best tries and gives White a clear advantage after 2...Bf5.

By far the most common reply is 3. Nc3, followed by 3. cxd5 and 3. Nf3. The immediate 3. Qb3, the Queen Attack, is rare, but White scores well with it. White can also delay the queen sortie, as in the Queen Attack Deferred, 3. Nc3 e6 4. Qb3. After 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nf3 Nc6 Black reaches the Pseudo-Chigorin, setting up a Chigorin-style knight on c6 in front of the c-pawn. The Pseudo-Slav, usually reached via 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Bf5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c6, uses the bishop-outside-the-chain structure of the Slav. Against 3. cxd5, Black has the Argentinian Gambit, 3...Bxb1 4. Qa4+ c6 5. dxc6 Nxc6. Here Black gives up a pawn and the bishop pair for quick development.

The defense is a rare guest in serious play. Its reputation is modest, since White has little difficulty securing an advantage against it. It still turns up regularly in online games, where it ranks among the more frequently reached named positions. White scores noticeably better than Black there, and draws are unusually rare.