Against 1.d4 the main decision is 1…d5 or 1…Nf6, with the Dutch, 1…f5, as a third and less common choice. The first leads to the Queen’s Gambit positions, the second mostly to the Indian defenses, though 1…Nf6 players often end up in Queen’s Gambit positions too. Few books cover both. This page goes through each, with links to our separate guides where an opening has one.
What your opponents actually play
Most books on these defenses assume White’s second move is 2.c4, the Queen’s Gambit, and spend nearly all their pages on it. A lot of club opponents never play it. They play the London, the Trompowsky, the Colle or the Torre, and some books have little or nothing to say about any of them. Check the contents for those names. Of the books below, Ntirlis and Castellanos have chapters on them. Dlugy, Swiercz and Martin do not, so with any of those you will need a separate answer. Check the same thing in the King’s Indian, Gruenfeld and Benoni books in our other guides.
Meeting 1.d4 with 1…d5
The classical choice. Black takes a share of the center straight away, and the positions are usually more solid and slower to open up than in the Indian defenses. After 2.c4 the main decision is between 2…e6, the Queen’s Gambit Declined; 2…c6, the Slav and Semi-Slav, which have their own guide; and 2…dxc4, taking the pawn.
Playing 1.d4 d5: A Classical Repertoire
Nikolaos Ntirlis (Quality Chess, 2017, 336 pages). A Queen’s Gambit Declined repertoire with …Be7 and …Nbd7. It covers the Bg5 and Bf4 main lines, the Exchange Variation and the Catalan, and it also has a chapter on the London, Torre and Colle, so it is a full repertoire and not only a main-line book. It is meant for club players and up, not beginners, and the theory dates from 2017.
There is a 15-page sample on the product page.
The Modernized Queen’s Gambit Declined
Luis Rodi (Thinkers Publishing, 2024, 620 pages). The newer of the two QGD repertoires, starting from 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6. Each chapter ends with annotated games, and a closing section deals with White’s other setups, the Catalan among them. At 620 pages it is the longest book on this page, which suits a reader who wants everything in one place more than one who wants to get playing quickly.
There is a 16-page sample on the product page.
The Queen’s Gambit Accepted (Second Edition)
Max Dlugy (Russell Enterprises, 2024, 392 pages). The repertoire with 2…dxc4, where White usually regains the pawn and Black uses the time to develop and hit back at the center. The book is built around 72 annotated games, with a quick-start summary at the front. Reviewing it in 2025, Paul Kane advised getting it “only if you are serious about playing the Queen’s Gambit Accepted as your main defence to 1.d4.” It has nothing on the London or the Veresov.
Richard Pert (Quality Chess, 2016, 440 pages). The Ragozin is a Queen’s Gambit Declined in which Black plays …Bb4, borrowing an idea from the Nimzo-Indian, and it is livelier than the classical lines. Pert approaches it from the 1…d5 side, through 2.c4 e6. The book is ten years old. John Donaldson’s review points out that Pert’s main line in the Vienna ends in a perpetual check, though there is a sharper alternative for players who need to win.
There is a 15-page sample on the product page.
Meeting 1.d4 with 1…Nf6
The Indian defenses delay …d5, or never play it, and contest the center with pieces first (the Gruenfeld is the exception, with …d5 on move three). The games are usually less symmetrical than after 1…d5. Each of the main ones has its own guide:
- The Nimzo-Indian: 3.Nc3 Bb4, pinning the knight.
- The King’s Indian: Black lets White build a big center and counterattacks, often on the kingside.
- The Gruenfeld: Black also allows a big center, then attacks it with pieces and …c5. Very theoretical.
- The Benoni and the Benko Gambit: unbalanced pawn structures from move three, and in the Benko a pawn sacrificed for long-term pressure on the queenside.
The Nimzo-Indian player’s second book
The Nimzo needs White to play 3.Nc3. If you play 1…Nf6 and 2…e6 for it, you still need an answer when White plays 3.Nf3 or 3.g3 instead of 3.Nc3. Three of the usual answers are below, one book each. The Bogo-Indian, 3…Bb4+, is another.
Beating the Queen’s Gambit: Indian Style!
Renier Castellanos (Quality Chess, 2024, 312 pages). The companion to his Playing the Nimzo-Indian, and the two together make a complete repertoire against 1.d4. Against 3.Nf3 it plays 3…d5, and the main lines are the Vienna and the open Catalan, both with an early …dxc4. The last part covers the London, the Jobava London, the Trompowsky, the Torre, the Colle and the Veresov. It is an advanced book.
There is a 16-page sample on the product page.
A Complete Opening Repertoire for Black after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6: Ragozin & Anti-Catalan
Dariusz Swiercz (Thinkers Publishing, 2023, 456 pages). Against 3.Nf3 it plays the Ragozin, 3…d5 4.Nc3 Bb4, and against the Catalan …d5 with …Bb4+. Where Pert’s Ragozin book above starts from 1…d5, this one is written for the 1…Nf6 player as the partner to a Nimzo. It is the second of two volumes, the first being on the Nimzo, but it works alongside any Nimzo book. Everything in it starts after 2.c4.
Grandmaster Repertoire: The Queen’s Indian Defence
Michael Roiz (Quality Chess, 2018, 424 pages). The quietest of the three: 3.Nf3 b6, and against 3.g3 a Catalan section of about 100 pages. Roiz wrote it as a companion to his own Nimzo-Indian book, which we don’t stock, and one line against 3.g3 transposes into that volume.
There is a 16-page sample on the product page.
Meeting 1.d4 with 1…f5
The Dutch Defense goes for the e4 square at once and gives up some king safety for an unbalanced game from the first move. The Stonewall, Leningrad and Classical setups play quite differently, and the Dutch guide explains how, with separate sections on the Leningrad and the Stonewall.
Two offbeat choices
For players who want to leave main-line theory early. The Chigorin Defence: Move by Move by Jimmy Liew (Everyman Chess) covers 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6, which blocks the c-pawn and plays for quick piece activity. Reviewing it for ChessCafe, Devin Camenares wrote that the book does not argue the Chigorin is “an easy road,” and that he had found it unforgiving at times against stronger opposition. Play the Budapest Gambit by Andrew Martin (Everyman Chess, 2021) covers 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5, with both 3…Ng4 and the Fajarowicz, 3…Ne4. Martin himself calls the Fajarowicz a good surprise weapon that is perhaps not fully sound.