Openings · D70–D99

Grünfeld Defence

Offer the centre, take it back from the side: Black lets White build a pawn duo and spends the whole game attacking it.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5played as Black

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play Black; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

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a
Your move 1 of 30/3
  1. 1.d4Nf6
  2. 2.c4g6
  3. 3.Nc3d5

White is answering…

The idea

3…d5 invites 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4, and White ends up with pawns on d4 and e4 that look overwhelming. They are the target. The bishop on g7, the pawn break …c5 and the pressure down the c-file exist for nothing else, and if White's centre holds, Black is simply worse.

It is the most demanding of the Indian defences to play well, because the counterplay has to be exact and permanent. There is no slow plan, no waiting move, and no version of the position where Black is comfortable without hitting d4.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Taking on d4 with the bishop

After 12.Bxf7+
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
The mistake
Collecting the d4 pawn once it looks undefended.
Why it costs
11…Bxd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 walks into 13.Bxf7+ — the rook recaptures and the queen falls to Qxd4. It is the standard trap in the whole opening, and it works because the bishop on c4 has been pointing at f7 since move seven.
Instead
…Bg4 or …Nc6 first, adding an attacker to d4 rather than taking a pawn the position has been offering you on purpose.

Releasing the tension too early

After 9.cxd4
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
The mistake
Taking on d4 with the pawn as soon as the break is made.
Why it costs
White recaptures with a pawn and gets exactly the centre he wanted: pawns on d4 and e4, no weaknesses on c3 to attack, and a free hand. The tension is the pressure — once it is gone, so is Black's opening.
Instead
Keep the pawn on c5 and add pieces: …Qa5, …Bg4, …Nc6, …Rc8. White should be the one who has to resolve it.

Playing it like a King's Indian

After 6…e6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
The mistake
Closing the position with …e6 and waiting for a kingside attack.
Why it costs
The Grünfeld has no kingside attack. Shutting the bishop on g7 in with …e6 removes the only piece pressing on d4, and Black is left with a bad Slav a tempo down and a wasted move on …g6.
Instead
…c5 and …Nc6, or …dxc4 and …c5. Every Grünfeld plan is aimed at d4; if a move does not help hit it, it is probably the wrong move.

What the engine says

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5, these are White's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing White's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 2 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. Nf3+0.3
  2. cxd5+0.3
  3. Bf4+0.3
  4. Bg5+0.2
  5. Bd2+0.2
  6. Qa4++0.1

The engine's main line from Nf3: Nf3 Bg7 Qb3 dxc4 Qxc4 O-O e4 c6.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

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