Danish Gambit & Center Game
You play White · 13 variations
Mixed practice
The machine picks a different variation every time.
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10 positions: find the next theory move in each. No take-backs, no hints.
Main variations · 4
- Classical DefenseC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 Nf65 moves
- Schlechter DefenseC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 d55 moves
- Charousek VariationC221. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qe3 Bb4+ 5. c3 Be75 moves
- Kupreichik VariationC221. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qe3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bd2 O-O 7. O-O-O Re8 8. Bc4 d6 9. Nh39 moves
Other variations · 9
- Halasz-McDonnell Gambit, Crocodile VariationC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. f4 Bc5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c35 moves
- Hall VariationC221. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qc44 moves
- Kieseritzky VariationC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 c5 4. Bc44 moves
- Lanc-Arnold Gambit, Schippler GambitC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 Bc5 4. c3 dxc3 5. Bc45 moves
- Ross GambitC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Bd33 moves
- von der Lasa GambitC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Bc43 moves
- Chigorin DefenseC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 Qe75 moves
- Copenhagen DefenseC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 Bb4+5 moves
- Svenonius DefenseC211. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 Ne73 moves
What is the Danish Gambit & Center Game?
This entry covers two related openings that begin 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4. In the Center Game, 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4, you recapture with the queen and accept that it can be chased by ...Nc6. In the Danish Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2, you give two pawns and your bishops on c4 and b2 rake the board toward f7 and g7. Both are open, attacking openings from the classical era and are surprise weapons today; the Danish is a true gambit.
Main ideas and plans
In the Center Game the usual follow-up is the Paulsen Attack, 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3, where the queen steps aside and you continue with Nc3, Bd2 and long castling, then a kingside pawn storm. Black's most active reply is the Berger Variation, with ...Nf6, ...Bb4, castling and ...Re8 hitting e4; the Kupreichik Variation is a sharp main line with castling on opposite wings. Black can also check on b4 and retreat the bishop to e7 after c3, the Charousek Variation, while the Hall Variation is a rarer queen retreat to c4.
In the Danish you aim for a quick attack on f7 with Nc3, Nf3, Qb3 and rooks on the open c- and d-files. Black's reliable antidote is the Schlechter Defense, which returns material to break the bishops' grip: after 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5 6.Bxd5 Nf6 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 the queens are off and Black is at least equal. Other tries are the Classical Defense with ...Nf6, the Copenhagen Defense with ...Bb4+ and the Chigorin Defense with ...Qe7, and Black can decline with the Svenonius Defense, 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 Ne7.
Who is it for?
These openings suit attacking players who enjoy open lines, quick development and tactics, especially at club level and in faster games, where accurate defence is hard. The downside is objective: against good defence such as the Schlechter line or the Berger set-up, White has little or no advantage, and you may end up in an equal or slightly worse endgame. First learn the typical attacking patterns against f7 and along the long diagonal, then how to handle the defences that return the pawn with ...d5.