The Center Game is a

chess opening A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defen ...

that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. d4 exd4 The game usually continues 3.Qxd4 Nc6, with a gain of

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

for

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

due to the attack on the white

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. (Note that 3.c3 is considered a separate opening: the

Danish Gambit The Danish Gambit, known as the ' in German and the ' in Dutch (both meaning Nordic Gambit), is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. d4 exd4 :3. c3 White will sacrifice one or two pawns for the sake of rapid and the att ...

General concepts

White's 2nd move challenges the center by attacking the e-pawn and also opening up the d- for the rook and

to attack, but at the cost of moving the

early and allowing Black to develop with a

with 3...Nc6. In White's favor, after 4.Qe3, the most commonly played retreat, the position of the white queen hinders Black's ability to play ...d5. The is cleared of pieces quickly which facilitates

castling Castling is a move in chess. It consists of moving the king two squares toward a rook on the same and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over. Castling is permitted only if neither the king nor the rook has previously move ...

and may allow White to quickly develop an attack. From e3, the white queen may later move to g3 where she will pressure Black's g7-square.

History

The Center Game is an old opening. It was mostly abandoned by 1900 because no advantage could be demonstrated for

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

Jacques Mieses Jacques Mieses (born Jacob Mieses; 27 February 1865 – 23 February 1954) was a German-born British chess player. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. He became a naturalized British ci ...

, Savielly Tartakower and

Rudolf Spielmann Rudolf Spielmann (5 May 1883 – 20 August 1942) was a Jewish-Austrian chess player of the romantic school, and chess writer. Career Spielmann was born in 1883, third child of Moritz and Cecilia Spielmann, and had a younger brother Edgar, an ol ...

seemed to be the last strong players who would adopt it. The Center Game was rarely played by elite players until

Alexander Shabalov Alexander Anatolyevich Shabalov (russian: Алекса́ндр Анато́льевич Шаба́лов; lv, Aleksandrs Šabalovs; born September 12, 1967) is an American chess grandmaster and a four-time winner of the United States Chess Ch ...

revived it in the 1980s. Later,

Alexei Shirov Alexei Shirov (, lv, Aleksejs Širovs; born 4 July 1972) is a Latvian and Spanish chess player. Shirov was ranked number two in the world in 1994. He won a match against Vladimir Kramnik in 1998 to qualify to play as challenger for the classic ...

, Michael Adams,

Judit Polgár Judit Polgár (born 23 July 1976) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster, generally considered the strongest female chess player of all time. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, at the time the yo ...

and

Alexander Morozevich Alexander Sergeyevich Morozevich (russian: Александр Серге́евич Морозе́вич, translit=Aleksandr Sergéevich Morozévich; born July 18, 1977) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE ...

also contributed to the theory of the Center Game by forcing re-evaluation of lines long thought to favor Black. In recent years,

Ian Nepomniachtchi Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi ( rus, Ян Алекса́ндрович Непо́мнящий, r=Yan Aleksandrovich Nepomnyashchiy, p=ˈjan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj, a=Ru-Ian Alexandrovich Nepomnyashchij.ogg; born 14 J ...

has also experimented with the opening.

Variations

3.Qxd4 Nc6

The nearly universal sequence of moves in the Center Game is 3.Qxd4 Nc6 (''ECO'' code C22). Now White has a choice of retreat squares for the queen. Although 4.Qa4 corresponds to a fairly commonly played variation of the

Scandinavian Defense The Scandinavian Defense (or Center Counter Defense, or Center Counter Game) is a chess opening characterized by the moves: :1. e4 d5 This opening is classified under code B01 in the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' (). The Scandinavian ...

(1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5) reversed, it is rarely played in the Center Game because tournament experience has not been favorable for White in this line. The best move for the queen seems to be 4.Qe3, known as ''Paulsen's Attack''. White intends to castle queenside in this line. Black usually continues 4...Nf6 when a typical line continues 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 0-0 7.0-0-0 Re8. White may try to complicate play by means of the pawn sacrifice 8.Qg3!? intending 8...Rxe4 9.a3! – Shabalov's move. Black's best reply seems to be the 9...Ba5. Even though this line gives White some compensation for the pawn, it is probably fine for Black. A more solid option for Black is the natural 5...Be7! intending ...d7–d5 (sometimes even after White plays 6.Bc4), opening up lines as soon as possible. Black also seems to get a good game with 4...g6, and 4...Bb4+ has been played successfully as well.

3.c3

3.Nf3 or 3.Bc4

Postponing recapture of the queen pawn is a standard idea in the Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6), but 3.Nf3 is less commonly played in the Center Game. Black can safely transpose to the

Scotch Game The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. d4 Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On t ...

, Petrov's Defense or the

Philidor Defense The Philidor Defence (or Philidor's Defence) is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 d6 The opening is named after the famous 18th-century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternativ ...

, or play a line recommended by

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

, 3...Bc5 4.Nxd4 Nf6 and now 5.e5 would be met with 5...Qe7. Similar ideas are possible after 3.Bc4, which is also uncommon. 3.Bc4 is referred to in older chess works as the Center Gambit.

3.f4?! (Halasz Gambit)

The Halasz Gambit (3.f4?!) is another rare try. Although the move dates back to at least 1840, it has been championed more recently by the Hungarian correspondence player Dr. György Halasz. The

gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...

seems dubious but it has not been definitively refuted.

References

External links

Tim Harding on the Halasz GambitTim Harding on the Center Game
{{Authority control Chess openings