Center Game
The Center Game (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4) opens the centre on move two. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
31,572,364 games: White 53.0% / Draw 3.9% / Black 43.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Center Game Accepted | 24,267,67424.3M | |
| Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation | 3,463,9783.5M | |
| King's Pawn Game: Maróczy Defense | 1,512,8031.5M | |
| 755,790756K | ||
| King's Pawn Game: Beyer Gambit | 487,127487K | |
| 258,721259K | ||
| 170,378170K | ||
| 141,563142K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.06 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... exd4 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 Nc6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. e5 Ng4 7. O-O
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 53% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 36.4M | |
| 1400–1799 | 34M | |
| 1800–2199 | 15M | |
| 2200 and up | 912K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,866 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Ding Liren
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Karjakin, S.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Anand, V.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Description
The Center Game (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4) opens the centre on move two. White recaptures with the queen, accepting that it will be chased by 3...Nc6, in return for quick, aggressive development.
Origins
The opening dates from 1590 or earlier, and Philipp Stamma analysed it in 1745. In the late 19th century Siegbert Tarrasch, Mikhail Chigorin and Wilfried Paulsen played it regularly, but it was mostly abandoned after 1900 because no advantage could be shown for White. Jacques Mieses, Sultan Khan, Savielly Tartakower and Rudolf Spielmann were the last strong players to adopt it until Alexander Shabalov revived it in the 1990s, followed by Alexei Shirov, Michael Adams, Judit Polgár and Alexander Morozevich; more recently Ian Nepomniachtchi and Arjun Erigaisi have played it too.
The idea
After 3.Qxd4 Nc6 White's queen usually goes to e3, the Paulsen Attack, from where it hinders Black's freeing ...d5. In the main line White castles long and often gets an attractive kingside attack, and the opening is considered well suited to faster time controls.
Main lines
- Normal Variation 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 (Berger Variation), where the main line is 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 O-O 7.O-O-O Re8. 5.Bd2 is considered safer for White.
- 4.Qc4, the rarer Hall Variation.
- Gambits instead of 3.Qxd4:
- 3.c3, the Danish Gambit;
- 3.Bc4, the von der Lasa Gambit, linked to the Scotch Gambit;
- 3.f4, the Halasz-McDonnell Gambit.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Fast, aggressive play and chances for a kingside attack.
- Many opponents have not prepared against it.
- The queen on e3 makes ...d5 hard for Black.
Weaknesses
- The early queen move costs time; Black develops with gain of tempo.
- Theory has never shown an advantage for White, so a prepared opponent equalises.
Who should play it
The Center Game suits attacking players who like opposite-side castling and fast games, and who want to avoid the heavily analysed Ruy Lopez and Italian Game.
The numbers
On Lichess White does well between 1400 and 2200: 52.2% against 44.2% at 1400–1799 and 53.3% against 42.6% at 1800–2199. Under 1400 it is 50.5% against 45.4%, and from 2200 up 49.7% against 44.2%. In 1,866 master games over the board White won 30.4%, Black 33.9%, and 35.7% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Center Game
2…Nc6 (Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation) scores best for Black: 45.6%, with Black winning 43.8% and White 52.5% of 3.5M games. The most played answer, 2…exd4, scores lowest: 45.4% in 24.3M games. Stockfish's first choice is 2…exd4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Center Game has stayed between 1.1% and 1.4% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (1.3% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.4% | 489,488 |
| 2017 | 1.2% | 678,241 |
| 2018 | 1.1% | 880,325 |
| 2019 | 1.1% | 1,410,909 |
| 2020 | 1.1% | 3,302,448 |
| 2021 | 1.2% | 4,866,480 |
| 2022 | 1.2% | 4,552,024 |
| 2023 | 1.2% | 4,638,846 |
| 2024 | 1.3% | 4,564,485 |
| 2025 | 1.3% | 4,345,866 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 1.2% | 1,321,810 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (3)
Transpositions
All 28 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C21 Center Game Accepted 2 moves
- C20 King's Pawn Game: Beyer Gambit 2 moves
- C20 King's Pawn Game: Philidor Gambit 3 moves
- C21 Center Game 3 moves
- C21 Center Game: Halasz-McDonnell Gambit 3 moves
- C21 Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation 3 moves
- C21 Center Game: Ross Gambit 3 moves
- C21 Center Game: von der Lasa Gambit 3 moves
- C21 Danish Gambit 3 moves
- C21 Crocodile Variation 5 moves
- C21 Kieseritzky Variation 3 moves
- C21 Center Game: Lanc-Arnold Gambit 4 moves
- C22 Normal Variation 3 moves
- C21 Danish Gambit Accepted 3 moves
- C21 Danish Gambit Accepted: Svenonius Defense 3 moves
- C21 Danish Gambit Declined: Sörensen Defense 3 moves
- C22 Center Game: Hall Variation 4 moves
- C21 Kieseritzky Variation 4 moves
- C21 Schippler Gambit 5 moves
- C22 Center Game: Paulsen Attack Variation 4 moves
- C21 Chigorin Defense 5 moves
- C21 Classical Defense 5 moves
- C21 Copenhagen Defense 5 moves
- C21 Schlechter Defense 5 moves
- C22 Center Game: Berger Variation 4 moves
- C22 Center Game: Charousek Variation 5 moves
- C22 Center Game: l'Hermet Variation 4 moves
- C22 Center Game: Kupreichik Variation 9 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Center Game, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Center Game (C20)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/center-game