Ponderchess / Openings
Play the guided film, or select a scene to pause and study its position.
Opening
The Center Game in 3D
1.e4 e5 2.d4. White opens the centre at once. After 2...exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 the queen must move again, so White trades time for open lines.
Rebuild the sequence yourself. The board responds to each move, and hints are available.
Click or drag to move · Arrow keys + Enter to play
Your turn · white to play
Select a piece, then its destination. Switch to 2D for a clear overhead view or rotate the 3D board to explore the position.
Center Game: Charousek Variation, move by move: e4 e5 d4 exd4 Qxd4 Nc6 Qe3 Bb4+ …
The white pieces
Put the queen on e3, develop with Nc3, Bd2 and long castling, and use the half-open d-file against Black's d-pawn.
The black pieces
Develop with tempo: ...Nc6 hits the queen, ...Nf6 and ...Bb4 pressure e4, and ...Re8 adds to it. Prepare ...d5 to open the centre.
Look a little deeper · 01
The main line is 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3, the Paulsen Attack. White follows with Nc3, Bd2 and long castling, aiming for an attack with the king safe on the queenside.
Look a little deeper · 02
Black's most natural reply is 4...Nf6, the Berger Variation, followed by ...Bb4, ...O-O and ...Re8 to put pressure on e4 and the e-file.
Look a little deeper · 03
White can also avoid the early queen move with 3.Nf3 or 3.Bc4, offering a pawn for development, while 3.c3 leads to the Danish Gambit.
Look a little deeper · 04
The ...d5 break is Black's standard way to free the position once development is complete, since it opens lines while White's king is still settling.
Center Game: Charousek Variation, move by move: e4 e5 d4 exd4 Qxd4 Nc6 Qe3 Bb4+ …
Keyboard: Space pauses, the arrow keys step. Gold arrows are White's moves, violet are Black's, red rays are threats, green shows support, blue shows plans.
