The Center Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 The game usually continues 3.Qxd4 Nc6, with a gain of tempo for Black due to the attack on the white queen. (Note that 3.c3 is considered a separate opening: the Danish Gambit.) General concepts White's 2nd move challenges the center by attacking the e-pawn and also opening up the d- for the rook and queen to attack, but at the cost of moving the queen early and allowing Black to develop with a tempo 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 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. Jacques Mieses, Savielly Tartakower and Rudolf Spielmann seemed to be the last strong players who would adopt it. The Center Game was rarely played by elite players until Alexander Shabalov revived it in the 1980s. Later, Alexei Shirov, Michael Adams, Judit Polgár and Alexander Morozevich 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 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 (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