Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
4,762,716 games: White 54.1% / Draw 4.0% / Black 41.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Scotch Game | 2,397,0562.4M | |
| 876,083876K | ||
| Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation | 363,132363K | |
| 329,052329K | ||
| 250,987251K | ||
| Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack | 227,772228K | |
| 124,357124K | ||
| 51,04051K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.03 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 Nc6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. e5 Ng4 8. a3
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 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.6M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 208K | |
| Masters, over the board | 450 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Karjakin, S.
- Dubov, D. – Dominguez Perez, L.
- Jones, G. – Dominguez Perez, L.
- Jones, G. – Yu Yangyi
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: Kieseritzky Variation (ECO C21, Open Games) is a variation of the Center Game Accepted, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 (3 moves).
In 4,762,716 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.1%, Black 41.9% and 4.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Nc6, in 50% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is Center Game: Lanc-Arnold Gambit. In all, 4 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: Kieseritzky Variation
3…d5 scores best for Black: 46.9%, with Black winning 44.3% and White 50.4% of 329K games. The most played, 3…Nc6, scores 45.0% in 2.4M games, and 3…c5 scores lowest: 39.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…Bb4+.
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: Kieseritzky Variation dipped to 0.16% of Lichess games in 2020 and has recovered since: 0.2% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.19% | 67,478 |
| 2017 | 0.18% | 99,657 |
| 2018 | 0.18% | 141,671 |
| 2019 | 0.18% | 218,998 |
| 2020 | 0.16% | 482,758 |
| 2021 | 0.17% | 672,311 |
| 2022 | 0.18% | 675,042 |
| 2023 | 0.19% | 711,229 |
| 2024 | 0.19% | 698,619 |
| 2025 | 0.2% | 691,911 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.2% | 215,632 |
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 (2)
Transpositions
All 4 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation (C21)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/center-game-kieseritzky-variation