Center Game: Hall Variation
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qc4
The Center Game: Hall Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C22, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qc4. It is a line of the Center Game. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,155 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.08 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4… Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Ne2 O-O 7. Bg5)
- ECO
- C22
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/8/2Q1P3/8/PPP2PPP/RNB1KBNR b KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,476 | |
| 1500-1999 | 580 | |
| 2000+ | 99 | |
| All | 2,155 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 | 929 (43%) | |
| 4… d6 | 559 (26%) | |
| 4… Ne5 | 145 (7%) | |
| 4… Bb4+ | 105 (5%) | |
| 4… a6 | 69 (3%) | |
| 4… Qe7 | 68 (3%) | |
| 4… Qf6 | 53 (2%) | |
| 4… b6 | 39 (2%) |
Master games
239 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 19%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) – Integral 7.0.0-dev-453c1dc4 (3735) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-22
- Integral 7.0.0-dev-453c1dc4 (3735) – Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-19
- GM So, W. (2753) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2771) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Open PlayIn1 KO · 2026-03-16
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2760) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2731) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th Apr Late · 2024-04-30
- GM Yi Wei (2725) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2754) 1-0 · Jerusalem FIDE Grand Prix · 2019-12-16
Search all games of the Center Game: Hall Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM Hamisandwich (2623) – Artemov-Andriy (2521) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- friendlyfire01 (2316) – fikumiku89 (2492) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- SharkCh (2311) – afchex (2422) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Center Game: Normal Variation 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6
More Center Game lines (all)
- Center Game (1… e5 2. d4) C20
- Center Game (2… exd4 3. Qxd4) C21
- Center Game: Halasz-McDonnell Gambit C21
- Center Game: Halasz-McDonnell Gambit, Crocodile Variation C21
- Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation (2… exd4 3. Nf3) C21
- Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation (3. Nf3 c5) C21
- Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation (3… c5 4. Bc4) C21
- Center Game: Lanc-Arnold Gambit C21
- Center Game: Lanc-Arnold Gambit, Schippler Gambit C21
- Center Game: Ross Gambit C21
- Center Game: von der Lasa Gambit C21
- Center Game: Berger Variation C22
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.