Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation (3… c5 4. Bc4)
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 c5 4. Bc4
The Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C21, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 c5 4. Bc4. 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 2,344 times by this move order. White won 59%, 3% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nc6 (25% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.20 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4… Nc6 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 Nf6 7. e5)
- ECO
- C21
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1p1ppp/8/2p5/2BpP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 c5 4. Bc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 659 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,497 | |
| 2000+ | 188 | |
| All | 2,344 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nc6 | 584 (25%) | |
| 4… h6 | 411 (18%) | |
| 4… d6 | 410 (17%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 269 (11%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 237 (10%) | |
| 4… f6 | 139 (6%) | |
| 4… Qe7 | 51 (2%) | |
| 4… d5 | 35 (1%) |
Master games
13 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 69%, draw 0%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- IM Loic Travadon (2415) – GM Namig Guliyev (2551) 0-1 · TCh-FRA Top 12 2021 · 2021-06-30
- IM Stephane Hautot (2350) – CM Dirk Floor (2230) 1-0 · TCh-BEL 2024-25 · 2024-11-03
- FM Alexey Ponikarovsky (1939) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2627) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Aug · 2020-08-18
- CM Campo Elias Guzman Lozano (1868) – CM Heinz Georg (2050) 0-1 · Titled Tue 28th Jan Late · 2025-01-28
- Victor Manuel Ferreira (1966) – Santos, Ju. (1870) 1-0 · Portugal Open Rapid 2018 · 2018-02-10
Search all games of the Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GreatAttacker (2452) – SiSi5i (2429) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- namespace123 (2325) – brayantheking (2333) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- luncur_CSI (2311) – terryalternative (2289) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation (3. Nf3 c5) 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 c5
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: 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
- Center Game: Charousek Variation C22
- Center Game: Hall 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.