Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation, Modern Defense: d5

Black has given up a pawn on c4, but you've gained tremendous activity. Your knight on e5 is a powerful outpost — it controls key squares and can't easily be kicked away. White's pawn on d5 restricts their own light-squared bishop and gives you space to manoeuvre. Your main idea is to complete development quickly, challenge White's centre, and exploit the time White spends recovering the pawn. If White isn't precise, you can launch a swift counterattack. The engine evaluates this position at +0.52, a small edge in White's favour — but that tiny advantage comes with risk. One slip from White, and you're the one pressing.

Stockfish's top recommendation for White is 5.Nf3, immediately challenging your proud knight. The continuation runs 5.Nf3 Nxf3+ 6.Qxf3 e6. By trading knights, White removes your most active piece and prepares to recapture the c4 pawn. Your task after this line is straightforward: open the centre with ...exd5, develop your pieces naturally (the bishop to e7 or d6, the knight to f6), and castle quickly. The resulting positions are playable for Black — you have sound pawn structure and no weaknesses, while White still needs to spend a tempo regaining the pawn on c4. This is the critical test of your opening knowledge.

The most popular moves in this position are actually mistakes, and that's great news for you. Here are the three most common inaccuracies to watch for: Bf4 — this is played in over 140,000 games (White scores 58.6%) but costs White about 0.6 pawns of advantage. The bishop looks active but your ...Nf3+ fork threat means White's queen will be displaced. f4 — played over 133,000 times (White scores 54.6%), this loses about 0.7 pawns. You simply retreat the knight to g6, and White's kingside is weakened. Bxc4 — played in over 11,000 games (White scores just 52.0%), also losing about 0.7 pawns. After ...Bxc4 Qxd4, you've won back the pawn and equalised with excellent activity. When White plays any of these, your winning chances jump significantly.

One surprise in the statistics: 5.Qa4+ appears in only 7,375 games, yet White scores just 40.5% — meaning Black wins more often than White from this position! While not the engine's first choice, it's a practical try. Your best answer is ...Bd7, blocking the check and developing. If White captures the knight with Qxe5, you recapture with ...Bxe5 and have the bishop pair and the centre under control. If White retreats, you continue with ...Nf6 or ...e6, keeping pressure on d5. This line shows that even when White avoids the main theoretical paths, your position is resilient and dangerous in practice.