Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. d4/2...exd4/3. Qxd4

Center Game Accepted
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/8/3QP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNB1KBNR b
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4
ECO code: C22
Parent: Open Game

Center Game Accepted

In the Center Game, White is happy with himself for knocking out Black's only foothold in the center square, e5. At the time, all four central squares are controlled by White. This may seem like a huge advantage for White, but if Black simply plays Nc6, the queen is forced to move. Conversely, it may seem like a bad idea to develop the queen before any other pieces; however, Black can get into trouble if careless.

Black's responses

Usually, Black responds to the center game by playing 3...Nc6 forcing White's queen to leave its central outpost.

Theory table

1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4

	3	4	5	6	Evaluation
Center Game	... Nc6	Qe3 Nf6	Nc3 Bb4	Bd2 O-O	=
	... Nf6				=

References

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.

External links

• 365Chess: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4