Queens gambit accepted

Queen's gambit accepted - Introduction

The Queen's Gambit Accepted was mentioned as early as the 15th century in chess literature, however it wasn't until the World Chess Championship in 1886 between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort that Steinitz introduced the first modern principles to this opening. Black up to that point focused on holding on to their material advantage after accepting White's gambit. Whereas Steinitz's plan was to exchange the material advantage for a positional one, giving up their extra pawn and forcing White to play with an isolated Queen's pawn, and exploiting that weakness for the remainder of the game. Even though Alexander Alekhine introduced further modern theory for Black in the early 1900s, the accepted lines of the Queen's Gambit had a dubious reputation well into the 20th century. It wasn't until the end of the 1990s that a significant number of elite players included the Queen's Gambit Accepted in their repertoires. Today, as modern theory has been introduced and refined with the help of modern engines, the Queen's Gambit is no longer considered a true gambit.

Traditionally it was thought that white gains an advantage by sacrificing material to gain central control, today we know that this is only true if black attempts to hold onto their material gain.

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Queen's gambit accepted - Central Variation

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Queen's gambit accepted - Main Line

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Introduction to the Queen's Gambit Accepted

Queen's gambit accepted - Introduction

Queen's gambit accepted - Central Variation

Queen's gambit accepted - Main Line