Center Game Accepted
Chess opening · ECO C21 · 4 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4
The Center Game Accepted is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Center Game with 2… exd4.
How often it is played
The Center Game Accepted and its variations appeared in 0.70% of games — 21,126 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 70 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 50%, 3.3% were drawn and Black won 46%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at -0.17 — which is level. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Knight Opening | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 | 15% |
| Sicilian Defense | 1. e4 c5 | 9.6% |
| French Defense | 1. e4 e6 | 6.4% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Center Game: Normal Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 | 0.29% |
| Danish Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 | 0.28% |
| Center Game: Kieseritzky Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 | 0.07% |
| Center Game: Halasz-McDonnell Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. f4 | 0.03% |
| Center Game: von der Lasa Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Bc4 | 0.02% |
| Center Game: Ross Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Bd3 | 0.01% |
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