Queen's Gambit Accepted (2. c4 dxc4)
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4
The Queen's Gambit Accepted is a chess opening classified as ECO D20, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4. White is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 116,599 times by this move order. White won 54%, 4% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 3. Nc3 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.28 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3. Nf3 e6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Bxc4 c5)
- ECO
- D20
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/8/2pP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 55,903 | |
| 1500-1999 | 53,157 | |
| 2000+ | 7,539 | |
| All | 116,599 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Nc3 | 38,097 (33%) | |
| 3. e4 Saduleto Variation | 34,996 (30%) | |
| 3. e3 Old Variation | 27,091 (23%) | |
| 3. Nf3 Normal Variation (2… dxc4 3. Nf3) | 11,058 (9%) | |
| 3. Qa4+ Accelerated Mannheim Variation | 2,727 (2%) | |
| 3. Bf4 | 915 (1%) | |
| 3. g3 | 535 (0%) | |
| 3. d5 | 445 (0%) |
Master games
1,014 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 14%, Black 44%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) 1/2-1/2 · Magnus-Alireza 27th Feb · 2021-02-27
- GM Alexey Sarana (2661) – GM Nihal Sarin (2700) 0-1 · Comet Open Titled Winners · 2025-10-18
- GM Daniel Fridman (2627) – GM Konstantin Landa (2662) 0-1 · HMC Calder Cup TB 2014 · 2014-06-28
- GM B. Adhiban (2671) – GM Jorden Van Foreest (2609) 0-1 · Van Foreest-Adhiban m TB · 2017-10-26
- GM Dmitrij Kollars (2598) – GM Alexander Donchenko (2659) 0-1 · Hobbits Invitational 2021 · 2021-03-21
Search all games of the Queen's Gambit Accepted and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sunrise34 (2912) – Superstitions_Guy (2853) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- GM cutemouse83 (2923) – Superstitions_Guy (2761) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- winx_m (2917) – LOVEHRJ (2755) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Gambit 1. d4 d5 2. c4
Continuations
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Accelerated Mannheim Variation D20 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Qa4+
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation (2… dxc4 3. Nf3) D21 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation D20 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Saduleto Variation D20 · 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4
More Queen's Gambit Accepted lines (all)
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Alekhine System D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Greco Variation D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, McDonnell Defense D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, McDonnell Defense, Somov Gambit D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Modern Defense D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense, Yefimov Gambit D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Linares Variation D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, Billinger Gambit D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, Christensen Gambit D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, Korchnoi Gambit D20
- Queen's Gambit Accepted: Old Variation, Novikov Gambit D20
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.