Openings · D20–D29

Queen's Gambit Accepted

2…dxc4 — take the pawn, give up the centre, and get every piece out before White gets it back.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4played as Black

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play Black; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

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Your move 1 of 20/2
  1. 1.d4d5
  2. 2.c4dxc4

White is answering…

The idea

The pawn is borrowed, not won. White plays e3 and Bxc4 and recovers it, and what Black has bought is time: …c5 hitting d4, …Nc6 and …Be7, and a light-squared bishop that gets out to f5 or g4 before …e6 shuts the door.

The strategic question of the whole opening is White's centre. If d4 and e4 both get established without Black striking at them, the pawn was returned for nothing.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Trying to keep the pawn with …b5

After 6.Qf3
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
The mistake
Defending the extra pawn with 3…b5.
Why it costs
6.Qf3 hits the rook on a8 and f7 together, down a diagonal that Black's own pawn moves opened — b7, c6 and d5 are all empty. Nothing saves everything, and the extra pawn was never keepable to begin with. It is the oldest trap in the opening and it still works.
Instead
3…Nf6 and …e6, and let White spend a move on Bxc4. …a6 and …b5 have their place later, once the rook on a8 is not the thing being forked.

Never playing …c5

After 9.e4
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
The mistake
Developing solidly and leaving the centre alone.
Why it costs
e4 gives White the ideal pawn centre and a free game, and Black is left playing a Queen's Gambit Declined a tempo down with the pawn already given back. The tempo was the entire compensation.
Instead
…c5 by about move six — the standard plan is …a6, …c5 and …Nc6, hitting d4 before e4 can be prepared.

Meeting 3.e4 politely

After 7…c6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
The mistake
Answering the big centre with quiet development and …c6.
Why it costs
Two pawns abreast on d4 and e4 with nothing pressing against them is the position every 1.d4 player would like to reach. …c6 defends a square nobody is attacking and gives up the …c5 break in the same move.
Instead
3…e5 or 3…c5 at once, hitting d4 while White's pieces are still at home. Against 3.e4 the centre has to be challenged immediately or not at all.

In real games between beginners

  • 1 in 130games end with Black giving checkmate by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 54.
  • 1 in 39games end with Black getting checkmated by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 33.

From 4,926 Lichess games in this opening between players rated under 1200, blitz and slower, September 2026. How we counted.

What the engine says

After 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4, these are White's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing White's chance of winning.

  1. e4+0.4
  2. Nf3+0.3
  3. e3+0.3
  4. Nc3+0.2
  5. Qa4++0.1
  6. Bf4-0.2

The engine's main line from e4: e4 e5 Nf3 exd4 Bxc4 Nc6 O-O Be6.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

Where it fits

The Queen's Gambit Accepted is a variation of the Queen's Gambit, whose page covers the ideas this one takes for granted.

Analyse a game you played in itAll openings