Queen's Gambit Accepted Chess Opening Guide

A legendary opening, played by some of the best players in history and pushed into the spotlight when Netflix's The Queen's Gambit made chess fashionable again, the Queen's Gambit Accepted is one of the rare openings that give Black an active, dynamic game. Let's take a closer look at it in this guide.

Here's what this guide covers.

• What the opening actually is, and why White gives up the pawn
• The main lines White can choose once the gambit is accepted

What Is the Queen's Gambit Accepted?

The Queen's Gambit begins with 1.d4 d5 2.c4.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

The move c4 deserves a word of explanation. White wants to take control of the center. To do that, White is looking to get rid of Black's pawn on d5. So White offers the c-pawn to lure the d5 pawn away, and that clears the way for e4 on good terms, with a strong pawn duo in the center.

When you deliberately give up a pawn in exchange for compensation, that's called a gambit. This one is the Queen's Gambit.

Black now has two options.

Either Black holds on to the d5 pawn by playing c6 or e6, declining the gambit. That leads to perfectly playable positions, if a touch passive.

Or Black takes the gift on c4. That's the Queen's Gambit Accepted.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

The Main Lines of the Queen's Gambit Accepted

Here are White's options once the pawn on c4 has been captured.

The Sharp e4 Line

In this line, White tries to make the most of the gambit by grabbing the center outright.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

This is a very dynamic line, and one you definitely need to know if you plan on playing the Queen's Gambit Accepted with Black.

The Classical e3 Line

The classical line is calmer. White simply plays e3.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

White will get the c4 pawn back, but Black has plenty of resources.

The Rarer Tries

Here's some good news for Black. The other third-move options for White don't have a great reputation. Black can reach a promising position relatively easily against them.

Your Move

• Learn the Italian Game with French champion Tigran Gharamyan, an opening for White that is just as highly recommended when you're just starting out in chess
• Browse our overview of the main chess openings to see where the Queen's Gambit Accepted fits in

That's it for our guide to this opening. We hope it made the opening a little clearer. Feel free to share it if it did.