Am I the only one who has trouble playing against the Queen's Gambit?

Whenever someone plays the Queen's Gambit, I respond with the Queen's Gambit Declined. However, it often feels like my bishops get stuck and can't move anywhere. This opening actually annoys me so much and I end up losing 75% of the games I play against it. Am I the only one who has trouble against this opening? And does anyone have any advice on how to play against it? Thanks

You aren't the only one. In fact, I used play struggle against this opening too. I just strongly felt that white shouldn't be able to sacrifice the c4 pawn and get away with it. I was literally trying to refute this! (I didn't even know this was a real chess opening back then)

I studied a ton from that looking for anything black could try, but in all the lines I looked at, I slightly preferred white's position. Then it occurred to me that since I preferred white in these lines, I'll start playing the Queen's Gambit with white! I'll either have good success with it, or someone is going to refute it and then I'll know what to play as black...

Well, no one refuted it (this is a mainline opening and solid even at Grandmaster level) and I started enjoying my positions with white. If you can't beat them, join them.

I'm actually working on a chess video of an opening black can use against the d4 and c4 setup white tries in the Queen's Gambit. You can check the video when it comes out, so here is my channel: https://www.youtube.com/@kesetokaiba/videos

Before waiting for my video, I'll say that the Queen's Gambit Declined is a solid option, but many other solid options exist too. Nimzo-Indian Defense, Slav Defense, Semi-Slav Defense, Queen's Gambit Accepted (intending to give back the c4 pawn later for piece development), Cambridge Springs Defense and many other mainlines give options against white's setup, so it is really a matter of experimenting what opening works best for you

I avoid it all together!

I reply 1...e6, and if 2.c4 (or 2.Bf4 or 2.Nf3 or 2.g3), then 2...f5! Only if 2.e4 do I play 2...d5, and against 2.Nc3, I play 2...Bb4.

No QGD for me, but there are other openings where Black gets a bad bishop, whether the LSB (French, Dutch) or DSB (Najdorf, King's Indian, Czech Benoni)

Following up on this; I haven't forgotten you @Honchkrowabcd

Here is the video I was working on. I just published it publicly a few minutes ago:

@1

"it often feels like my bishops get stuck and can't move anywhere" ++ Bf8 is no problem: it goes to e7, or even b4. Bc8 is a problem, it often has to go to b7. However, white has the same problem with Bc1. If you do not want to shut in your Bc8, then the Queen's Gambit Accepted 2...dxc4 or the Slav Defense 2...c6 may be more to your taste.

"Am I the only one who has trouble against this opening?" ++ Do you open 1 e4 as white? Opponents who open 1 d4 have experience with 1 d4 as white and as black.

I just play the KID if I see 1. d4.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 ---> problem solved: white has to take on d5 to claim anything, and after ...exd5 there is no "bad bishop" anymore.

I don't love the Tarrasch Defense because it gives black an isolated pawn and white can blockade it and now black is struggling to prove something:

Thanks for the advice!

Do you think accepting the Gambit and then just developing normally without protecting the extra pawn is good?

This is straightforward developing normally and look for the c5 break. It's called the Tartakower Defense if want to look it up more.

I used to play a sort of QGD Tartakower-Bondarevsky-Makoganov line similar to Spassky's choice.

Later I switched to something more dynamic... the King's Indian Defense Panno variation.

Well, clearly more than just the Panno Variation as the Panno Variation is just a Variation against the Fianchetto and the Saemisch. You would get killed trying to play 6...Nc6, 7...a6, 8...Rb8, and 9...b5 against the Classical, Four Pawns, or Averbakh.