The Center Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ...

1.e4 e5

2.d4 exd4

3.Qxd4

Black's next move is almost always 3...Nc6, developing with a gain of time due to the attack on the White Queen. Queen. ...

The Center Game is an old opening. It was mostly abandoned by 1900 because no advantage could be demonstrated for White. Mieses, Tartakower, and Spielmann, seemed to be the last strong players who would adopt it. Following World War I, the Center Game was rarely played by elite players, until Morozevich and Shabalov revived it in the 1980s. Later, Shirov, Adams, and Judit Polgar also contributed to the theory of the Center Game by forcing reevaluation of lines long thought to favor Black. Jacques Mieses (1865–1954) was a German-born Jewish chess player and writer. ... Ksawery Tartakower (generally known as Saviely or Savielly in English, from Polish Sawielly meaning little Saul, less often Xavier Tartacover or Xavier Tartakover; 1887–1956) was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. ... Rudolf Spielmann (5 May 1883 - 20 August 1942) was an Austrian-Jewish chess player of the romantic school. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Alexander Morozevich Alexander Morozevich (Александр Морозе́вич) (born July 18, 1977) is a Russian chess player. ... Alexander Shabalov is an American chess grandmaster, the multiple winner of the US Chess Championship. ... Alexei Shirov Alexei Shirov (Aleksejs Širovs, Алексе́й Широв) (born July 4, 1972 in Riga, Latvia), is one of the top chess grandmasters in the world today. ... Michael Adams (born November 17, 1971 in Truro, Cornwall, England) is an International Grandmaster of chess. ... Judit Polgár (born July 23, 1976) is a Hungarian chess player. ...

White succeeds in eliminating Black's e-pawn and opening the d-file, but at the cost of moving the queen early and allowing Black to develop with a gain of time 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 back rank is cleared of pieces quickly which facilitates queenside castling 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. This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ...

Main variations

After 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4,

• 3.c3 (Danish Gambit)
• 3.Qxd4 Nc6
  • 4.Qa4 (Scandinavian Defense Reversed)
  • 4.Qe3 (Main line)
    • 4...Bb4+
    • 4...Nf6
    • 4...g6
• 3.f4?! (Halasz Gambit)
• 3.Nf3
  • 3...Bc5 (Alekhine)
  • 3...Nc6 (Scotch Game, by transposition)
  • 3...d6 (Philidor Defense, by transposition)
  • 3...Nf6 (Petrov's Defense, by transposition)
  • 3...Bb4+

The Danish Gambit in which White offers a pawn with 3.c3 is considered a separate opening. The Danish Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves 1. ... The Center Counter Defense or Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves (in algebraic notation) 1. ... Alexander Alekhine Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (sometimes spelled Aljechin or Alechin) (IPA: ; Russian: ; other members of his family pronounce it , French: Alexandre Alekhine) (October 31 or November 1, 1892 – March 24, 1946) was a Russian-born naturalized French chess grandmaster (officially naturalized in 1927 only three days before the World Champion... The Scotch Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves 1. ... The Philidor Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves (in algebraic notation) 1. ... Petrovs Defence (sometimes spelled Petrof or Petroff) is the chess opening 1. ...

Postponing recapture of the queen pawn is a standard idea in the Center Counter Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 Nf6), but 3.Nf3 is very rarely played in the Center Game. Black can safely transpose to the Scotch Game or the Petrov's Defense, or play a line recommended by Alekine, 3...Bc5 4.Nxd4 Nf6 and now 5.e5 would be met with 5...Qe7. The Center Counter Defense or Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves (in algebraic notation) 1. ... The Scotch Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves 1. ... Petrovs Defence (sometimes spelled Petrof or Petroff) is the chess opening 1. ... Alexander Alekhine Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (sometimes spelled Aljechin or Alechin) (IPA: ; Russian: ; other members of his family pronounce it , French: Alexandre Alekhine) (October 31 or November 1, 1892 – March 24, 1946) was a Russian-born naturalized French chess grandmaster (officially naturalized in 1927 only three days before the World Champion...

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 chess player Dr György Halasz. The gambit seems dubious but it hasn't been definitely refuted. Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon. ... A gambit is a chess opening in which something, usually a pawn, but sometimes even a piece, is sacrificed in order to achieve an advantage. ...

The nearly universal sequence of moves in the Center Game is 3.Qxd4 Nc6. 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 (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5), it is rarely played in the Center Game because tournament experience has not been favorable for White in this line. The Center Counter Defense or Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves (in algebraic notation) 1. ...

The best move for the queen seems to be 4.Qe3. Black usually continues 4...Nf6 when a typical line continues 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 0-0 7.0-0-0 Re8. Black also seems to get a good game with 4...g6, and 4...Bb4+ has been played successfully as well.

External links

• Harding, Tim (August 1999). "The Vampire Gambit: Can We Bury It Now?". ChessCafe.com, The Kibitzer.
• Harding, Tim (December 2004). "The Center Game takes Center Stage" (pdf). ChessCafe.com, The Kibitzer.