Center Game Accepted
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Statistics from Lichess
24,258,070 games: White 52.7% / Draw 3.9% / Black 43.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Danish Gambit | 10,970,77411M | |
| Center Game | 6,446,8686.4M | |
| Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation | 4,764,8024.8M | |
| Center Game: von der Lasa Gambit | 1,119,2071.1M | |
| Center Game: Halasz-McDonnell Gambit | 672,211672K | |
| Center Game: Ross Gambit | 129,849130K | |
| 64,42464K | ||
| 23,91624K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 4, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 Nc6 5. a3 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 Qe7 7. Bd3 d6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 51% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 17.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 24.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 11.8M | |
| 2200 and up | 749K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,780 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Ding Liren
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Karjakin, S.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Karjakin, S.
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
Overview
Center Game Accepted (ECO C21, Open Games) is a variation of the Center Game, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 (2 moves).
In 24,258,070 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.7%, Black 43.4% and 3.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. c3, in 45% of those games.
It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are Danish Gambit and Center Game. In all, 25 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Center Game Accepted
3. Nf3 (Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation) scores best for White: 56.1%, with White winning 54.1% and Black 41.8% of 4.8M games. The most played, 3. c3, scores 56.1% in 11M games, and 3. Qxd4 scores lowest: 51.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. Nf3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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 Accepted has stayed between 0.88% and 1.1% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.95% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.1% | 388,032 |
| 2017 | 1.0% | 554,092 |
| 2018 | 0.92% | 719,740 |
| 2019 | 0.91% | 1,132,192 |
| 2020 | 0.88% | 2,580,192 |
| 2021 | 0.95% | 3,722,154 |
| 2022 | 0.92% | 3,465,946 |
| 2023 | 0.94% | 3,533,322 |
| 2024 | 0.97% | 3,474,487 |
| 2025 | 0.95% | 3,281,803 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.91% | 999,494 |
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 (6)
All 25 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- 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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Center Game Accepted (C21)”. Lichess data as of 4 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/center-game-accepted