Favorite Opening Against d4?

Welp, here we are again. I went ahead and posted my first blog: Working at Chess.com Rekindled My Love for the Game 🎉

I highlighted something that may resonate with a few of you: I’m totally chill when someone plays 1.e4. I pull out the French Defense, sip my coffee, and feel like I know what I’m doing.

But then someone drops 1.d4 and suddenly I'm just trying not to blunder in the first handful of moves.

At first, I tried going Dutch... and quickly realized it’s a defense that punishes every little mistake, which I am very good at making. So lately I’ve been playing it safe with 1...d5 and politely declining the Queen’s Gambit. It’s decent, but I rarely find an advantage. I’m usually just fighting for equality and hoping the endgame saves me.

So I turn to you, wise chess community: what do you play as Black against 1.d4? Any lines that feel natural for a French Defense player? Something solid, but with a little zhoosh?

Help me escape the 1.d4 wilderness 🙃