Move Order Before Structure
Move Order Before Structure
In the modern Queen’s Gambit Declined, the fight is often decided by move order before the structure is even settled. Every early commitment, whether ...Be7, ...Bb4 or ...c6, tells White which setup to choose.
4...Nbd7 is GM Sanan Sjugirov’s answer to that problem. The dark-squared bishop stays undecided between e7, b4 and d6, and in the Exchange structures the knight can reroute via b6 to clear the way for ...Bf5. White has to show his hand on move five, and only then does Black chooses the appropriate setup.
A Repertoire Built Around White’s Fifth Move
What makes the course distinctive is how each answer is chosen. Against the critical 5.Bg5, Sjugirov plays 5...Bb4!? and enters Ragozin territory. He calls it the smarter route, because it sidesteps the Qa4+ lines that leave Black’s knight awkwardly placed on c6.
Elsewhere, the recommendations are concrete and often new. Against 5.e3 he proposes the innovative 5...a6!?, steering the game into Janowski-type positions where the early e3 does not fit as naturally into White’s usual setups. Black prepares ...dxc4 and ...b5 with comfortable queenside play.
Against the trendy 5.Qc2, he prescribes 5...dxc4! 6.e4 c5, striking at White’s centre at once and questioning whether the early e4 advance is justified. Against 5.g3, ...c6 followed by ...dxc4 takes advantage of a Catalan setup in which the knight has committed to c3 too early.
The Author and His Reasoning
GM Sanan Sjugirov, whose peak FIDE rating reached 2712, brings years of top-level tournament experience to his Modern Chess debut. He is open about the source of the material: these are ideas he uses in his own games and plans to keep using.
His explanations reflect that. They focus on why a plan works over the board, not just on what the engine prefers. In the 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.e3 c5 7.Bd3 line, for example, he notes that the computer considers White fine, “but I don’t buy it”. Black’s play in the resulting IQP positions is simply easier.
Map of Variations
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7
5.Bg5 Bb4!?
- 6.Qa4, 6.Bxf6 Bxc3+!, 6.Rc1, 6.a3, 6.Qc2 and other sixth-move tries → Chapter 3
- 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Qc2 c5 (7.Qb3 c5!) → Chapter 5
- 6.e3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 Qa5 → Chapter 8
5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 Nb6!? 7.e3 Bf5 → Chapter 4
- 6.Bg5 Bb4 transposes → Chapter 5
5.Bf4 Bb4 6.e3 c5 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Qa5 → Chapter 7
5.e3 a6!? (5.a3, 5.c5 and other sidelines) → Chapter 6
5.Qc2 dxc4! 6.e4 c5 → Chapter 2
5.g3 c6 6.Bg2 dxc4 (6.Qd3 a5!?) → Chapter 1
Course Features
- 8 theoretical chapters covering every White fifth move after 4...Nbd7
- 20 test positions
- Memory Booster
- To-Go version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN (English, German, French, Spanish)
Completing the Picture Against 1.d4
The repertoire begins after 4.Nc3, so players who meet the Catalan move order 4.g3 will need a separate answer. GM Mahammad Muradli’s The Catalan with 4...Be7 for Black - A Reliable System fits naturally. It is reached through the same 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 move order.
Start Playing 4...Nbd7
The Queen’s Gambit Declined with 4...Nbd7 - A Repertoire for Black gives you a complete, coherent system in which every White fifth move has a prepared answer.
Explore GM Sanan Sjugirov’s debut course and make 4...Nbd7 a reliable part of your repertoire against 1.d4.