Center Game Accepted
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4
The Center Game Accepted is a chess opening classified as ECO C21, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4. White is to move. 6 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 136,805 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3. Qxd4 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 c5 5. Bc4 d6)
- ECO
- C21
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/8/3pP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 66,641 | |
| 1500-1999 | 61,532 | |
| 2000+ | 8,632 | |
| All | 136,805 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Qxd4 Center Game (2… exd4 3. Qxd4) | 54,103 (40%) | |
| 3. c3 Danish Gambit | 45,337 (33%) | |
| 3. Nf3 Kieseritzky Variation (2… exd4 3. Nf3) | 25,193 (18%) | |
| 3. Bc4 von der Lasa Gambit | 4,720 (3%) | |
| 3. f4 Halasz-McDonnell Gambit | 4,626 (3%) | |
| 3. Bd3 Ross Gambit | 1,000 (1%) | |
| 3. e5 | 707 (1%) | |
| 3. c4 | 171 (0%) |
Master games
8 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw -1%, Black 63%). The strongest:
- GM Jergus Pechac (2510) – IM Valentin Baidetskyi (2494) 1-0 · Vienna GM 2025 · 2025-12-22
- FM Josef Ask (2099) – FM Adrian Soderstrom (2408) 0-1 · Paskturneringen Open 2025 · 2025-04-20
- Andrey Prudnikov (2094) – Johann Ingvason (2092) 1-0 · TCh-ISL Kvika 2023-24 · 2024-03-02
- Rafael Montero Campuzano (2014) – Paul Muzika (2072) 0-1 · 47th Seville Open 2022 · 2022-07-22
- Gyula Papp (1834) – Rudolf Raba (1591) 1-0 · 29th Pannonia Cup 2026 · 2026-08-01
Search all games of the Center Game Accepted and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Guary1 (2852) – GladiatorDefence (2796) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Superstitions_Guy (2853) – Chess1Love0 (2788) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Superstitions_Guy (2819) – Chess1Love0 (2788) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Center Game (1… e5 2. d4) 1. e4 e5 2. d4
Continuations
- Center Game (2… exd4 3. Qxd4) C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4
- Center Game: Halasz-McDonnell Gambit C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. f4
- Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation (2… exd4 3. Nf3) C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3
- Center Game: Ross Gambit C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Bd3
- Center Game: von der Lasa Gambit C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Bc4
- Danish Gambit C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.