Queen's Gambit Accepted: Saduleto Variation
The Saduleto Variation, also called the Central Variation, is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4, a line of the Queen's Gambit Accepted. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
4,670,391 games: White 53.7% / Draw 4.5% / Black 41.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,008,6461M | ||
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, McDonnell Defense | 896,748897K | |
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Greco Variation | 772,430772K | |
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Alekhine System | 683,848684K | |
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Modern Defense | 569,831570K | |
| Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense | 199,311199K | |
| 164,081164K | ||
| 110,589111K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.25 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. O-O Be6 7. Nbd2 Be7 8. Qb3
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 White: White scores 57% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 58% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 5.4M | |
| 1400–1799 | 6.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.8M | |
| 2200 and up | 177K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,212 |
Master games
- Kasparov, G. – Anand, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Le Quang Liem
- Grischuk, A. – Caruana, F.
- Grischuk, A. – Caruana, F.
- Grischuk, A. – Caruana, F.
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 Saduleto Variation, also called the Central Variation, is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4, a line of the Queen's Gambit Accepted. White immediately builds a strong pawn centre while Black's pawn sits on c4. It is an old move that became popular again in the 1990s. Raetsky and Chetverik call the line straightforward and critical, and say that anyone playing the Queen's Gambit Accepted must be ready to meet it.
Main lines
- 3...e5 is the main reply, opposing White's centre in a highly theoretical system. White's best answer is 4.Nf3; 4.d5 is a common mistake. Play most often continues 4...exd4 5.Bxc4 Nc6 6.O-O Be6. Black can also play 4...Bb4+.
- 3...b5 tries to keep the pawn. It is fairly risky and rarely seen, though its popularity rose in the 2020s after the discovery of 6...Qb6 in the line 4.a4 c6 5.axb5 cxb5 6.Nc3.
Other replies
- 3...Nc6 is a modern line that challenges the centre with ideas like those of the Chigorin Defense.
- 3...Nf6 is another modern line. It provokes 4.e5, usually followed by 4...Nd5 5.Bxc4 Nb6, a pattern also seen in the Alekhine Defense.
- 3...c5, the Rubinstein Variation, undermines White's centre at d4.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 53.7% of the 4.7 million games and Black 41.8%. White leads 54.7% to 41.3% under 1400, but from 2200 up the margin narrows to 48.4% against 44.2%. In 6,212 master games over the board White won 35.1%, Black 19.8%, and 45.1% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Saduleto Variation
3…e5 (Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, McDonnell Defense) scores best for Black: 46.8%, with Black winning 44.3% and White 50.7% of 897K games. The most played answer, 3…e6, scores lowest: 42.2% in 1M games. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…e5.
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 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Saduleto Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.17% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.2%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.2% | 71,425 |
| 2017 | 0.17% | 94,457 |
| 2018 | 0.16% | 123,543 |
| 2019 | 0.16% | 203,783 |
| 2020 | 0.18% | 518,449 |
| 2021 | 0.2% | 768,013 |
| 2022 | 0.19% | 731,379 |
| 2023 | 0.19% | 707,534 |
| 2024 | 0.17% | 618,649 |
| 2025 | 0.17% | 573,714 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.17% | 184,652 |
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 9 named lines that continue from here
- D20 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Alekhine System 3 moves
- D20 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Greco Variation 3 moves
- D20 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, McDonnell Defense 3 moves
- D20 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Modern Defense 3 moves
- D20 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Rubinstein Defense 3 moves
- D20 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Schwartz Defense 3 moves
- D20 Somov Gambit 4 moves
- D20 Yefimov Gambit 4 moves
- D20 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Linares Variation 5 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Queen's Gambit Accepted, version of 6 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Gambit Accepted: Saduleto Variation (D20)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-gambit-accepted-saduleto-variation