Center Game Accepted
C21 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4
White scores 51.9% here across 2,085 club games — but the 37.2% who answer Qxd4 score 38.9%, 13 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 2,085 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 51.9% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c3 | 1,052 | 50.5% | 60.1% | holds up |
| Qxd4 | 776 | 37.2% | 38.9% | below the line |
| Nf3 | 206 | 9.9% | 62.6% | holds up |
| e5 | 31 | 1.5% | 29.0% | below the line |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.
Related openings
- Danish Gambit C21