Queen's Gambit Accepted - Early ...e6 (3...e6 4.Bxc4)
Opponent grabs the gambit pawn with ...dxc4 then plays ...e6 and ...Nf6. You play 3.e3 to reopen your bishop's diagonal, then recapture with 4.Bxc4 and aim to castle soon. Watch for Black's queenside majority later, but enjoy smooth development now.
Let's learn the rarer 3rd moves! Here, Black plays 3...e6, opening the way for the bishop on f8. We answer by capturing on c4 with our bishop. Let's begin with 1.d4.
Learn this chapter freeMain line
Scroll the moves: the board follows.
Key lines
The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.
- Main Line
… 2... dxc4 3. e3 e6 4. Bxc4 Nf6 5. Nf3
- 4...c5
… 4. Bxc4 c5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O
- 4...c5
… 4. Bxc4 c5 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. O-O
- 4...c5
… 4. Bxc4 c5 5. Nf3 a6 6. O-O
- 4...c5
… 4. Bxc4 c5 5. Nf3 cxd4 6. exd4
- 4...a6
… 4. Bxc4 a6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. O-O
- 4...a6
… 4. Bxc4 a6 5. Nf3 c5 6. O-O
- 4...a6
… 4. Bxc4 a6 5. Nf3 b5 6. Be2
- 4...Bb4+
… 4. Bxc4 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Nf3
- 4...Bb4+
… 4. Bxc4 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3
- 4...Nc6
… 4. Bxc4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2
- 4...Nc6
… 4. Bxc4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. O-O
- 4...c6
… 4. Bxc4 c6 5. Nf3 b5 6. Bd3
- 4...c6
… 4. Bxc4 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. O-O
Other chapters
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bxc4 e6 5. Nf3 c5 6. O-O a6 7. b3 b5 8. Be2 Bb7 9. Bb2 Nbd7 10. Nbd2
Main Line (3...Nf6)
Answer with 7.b3, 8.Be2, 9.Bb2, and meet ...Nbd7 with 10.Nbd2, planning a4, a trade on c5, and a rook to c1, or Nd4 with the bishop rerouted to f3. Aim for a position where Black's queenside pawn majority is outweighed by your active pieces.
23 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 b5 4. a4 c6 5. axb5 cxb5 6. Qf3 Nc6 7. Qxc6+ Bd7 8. Qa6 e6 9. Nf3 Nf6 10. Bd2 Ne4 11. Ba5
Holding the Pawn (3...b5 4.a4)
Black grabs your gambit pawn and meets 3.e3 with 3...b5, then often slips with 5...cxb5. Meet it with 4.a4, 5.axb5, and 6.Qf3 hitting the rook on a8, following up with Qxc6+, Qa6, Nf3, and Bd2. Watch for 10...Ne4, punished by Ba5 and a later Nbd2 trade. You end up a piece for a pawn, clearly winning despite an isolated b2 pawn.
10 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Bf5 4. Bxc4 e6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Nge2
Old Variation (3...Bf5)
9 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. Bxc4 exd4 5. exd4 Nf6 6. Qb3 Qe7+ 7. Ne2 Nc6 8. O-O Na5 9. Qb5+ Nc6 10. Bg5 a6 11. Qb3
Central Counter (3...e5, 5...Nf6)
After 5.exd4, Black plays ...Nf6, developing and eyeing e4. Meet ...Qe7+ with Ne2, then castle, meet ...Na5 with Qb5+, and pin the knight with Bg5. Watch for 8...Be6, which lets Qxb7 win a rook and a pawn for a knight. Aim for an isolated queen's pawn on d4, while Black holds a queenside majority.
6 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. Bxc4 exd4 5. exd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. O-O Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Qf6 9. Re1+ Be7 10. Qh3
Central Counter (3...e5, 5...Nc6)
After 3...e5 and 4...exd4 5.exd4, Black develops with 5...Nc6 and often 6...Bg4. Castle with 7.O-O, meet 7...Bxf3 with 8.Qxf3 threatening Qxf7#, then plan Nc3 and Re4 on the open e-file, backed by Bf4, Be3, and Qh5. Watch for 8...Qxd4? 9.Qxf7+ winning material.
6 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. Bxc4 exd4 5. exd4 Bd6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Qe2+ Qe7 8. Qxe7+ Bxe7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. O-O c6 11. Bg5
Central Counter Sidelines (5...Bd6, 5...Bb4+)
Black meets 5.exd4 with 5...Bd6, usually following up with 6...Nf6. Check with 7.Qe2+, trade queens after 8.Qxe7+ Bxe7, castle, then play 11.Bg5, planning a rook move to the e-file and a bishop retreat to expose Black's e7 bishop. Watch for 6...Ne7, where 7.Ng5 and 8.Qh5 let you win material. You get an isolated d4 pawn against Black's queenside majority.
3 lines1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. Bxc4 Nc6 5. Nf3 exd4 6. exd4
Old Variation (3...e5 4.Bxc4 Nc6)
8 lines
Learn Early ...e6 (3...e6 4.Bxc4) on the board
The trainer plays the opponent's moves and waits for yours, line by line. Free to start.
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