Starting Out 1.d4 d5 by WIM Anna-Maja Kazarian

Stop Guessing against 1.d4:
Answer with a Consistent yet Ambitious Reply

If you’ve ever sat down against 1.d4 and felt overwhelmed, you’re not alone. White has so many different systems, and most of them seem to require massive amounts of theory.

But WIM Anna-Maja Kazarian and FM Dachey Lin offer a simple, principled, yet powerful solution based on 1.d4 d5 — one that is accessible for beginners, yet ambitious enough to use even at master level.

With just a few consistent setups and easy-to-remember ideas, you’ll always know what to do, without drowning in theory.

At the heart of the course is the Queen’s Gambit Declined, one of the most classical and trusted openings in chess:

2.c4 is White’s most popular move after 1.d4 d5 —
and the main focus of this course.

The authors focus on understanding first: You’ll start your learning journey with a dedicated Strategy Guide that explains the strategic cornerstones of the repertoire.

For example: what it means to have your pawns on d5 and e6, how to develop your pieces, and how to treat the “bad” bishop on c8.

Here’s how your setup might look after a few moves:

You mostly develop one knight to f6, the other to d7,
your dark-squared bishop to e7 and the light-squared one often to b7.

Equipped with this foundation, you’ll move on to concrete lines. As a complete 1.d4 d5 repertoire, this course covers everything White might throw at you:

✅ The Catalan
✅ The London System
✅ The Jobava London
✅ The Colle, Torre, Stonewall, and Levitsky Attack
✅ Rare sidelines, including the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit