I've faced this a few times. My understanding is it's "bad" for black to work too hard trying to secure his gambitted pawn, but Bd7 seems to do it. I played this one to a win by resignation but I feel like I could have played it better. I was very defensive the whole time. What should I do in reply to 4...Bd7?
It looks like your opponent's attempt to hold on to the pawn is what cost him the game.
I don't think the fact that you having to react to your opponent's moves for a while means that you are doing something wrong. It just means that you've given your opponent the initiative in exchange for a pawn.
That's my two cents.
Originally posted by USArmyParatrooperIf your opponent "accepts" the gambit and then tries to hold onto the pawn, he's giving you a healthy concession for free! The Queen's Gambit isn't really a gambit. Black takes the pawn with the hope of getting freer piece play. He never intends to hold onto it. At least that's the idea. If Black wastes time trying to keep the pawn, White gets a strong center almost without trying and can easily hack Black's queen side pawns to shreads. Take a look at the main lines in this opening and you'll see what I mean. I suggest you play 3. Nf3 instead of 3. Nc3. This prevents ...e5?! Kind of a wild try by Black, but it can cause White problems.
Is there a known line that I didn't play that forces a concession from black?
Google Queen's Gambit Accepted if you don't have any opening references to look at. You'll find plenty of material.
Your move order idea from the beginning isn't very good.
What I mean by your move order is that your A4 is too early, and allows E5! If you take, he takes your queen and gets an enduring advantage.
I find that the easiest move to play with in your situation instead of a4 is e3, although Nf3 is fine. It's only after your opponent plays b5 that A4 is a good move in that situation. In any case, your Ne5 idea with the possiblility of Qf3 is very strong, just play Ne5 before capturing on the b file.
For example: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nc3 c6 4. e3 (or Nf3) b5 ( he won't play Bd7, or you'll just play Bxc4) 5. a4 Bd7 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Ne5 : now if he doesn't see the threat and plays a move like e6, now you play axb5 cxb5 Qf3 and you win.