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The Tarrasch Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves:
The Tarrasch is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined.
Black's third move is an aggressive bid for central space. After White plays cxd5 and dxc5, Black will be left with an isolated pawn on d5. Such a pawn may be weak, since it can no longer be defended by other pawns, but it grants Black a foothold in the center, and Black's bishops will have unobstructed lines for development.
The opening was advocated by the German player Siegbert Tarrasch, who contended that the increased mobility Black enjoys is well worth the inherent weakness of the isolated center pawn. Although many other masters, after the teachings of Wilhelm Steinitz, rejected the Tarrasch Defense out of hand because of the pawn weakness, Tarrasch continued to play his opening while rejecting other variations of the Queen's Gambit, even to the point of putting question marks on routine moves in all variations except the Tarrasch in his book Die moderne Schachpartie.