Sörensen Defense

The Sörensen Defense, also known as the Capablanca Defense, answers the Danish Gambit's 3. c3 with 3...d5. Black does not grab a second pawn. Instead the move counterattacks e4 and opens the center while most of White's pieces are still undeveloped, on the understanding that the extra pawn on d4 will usually be returned. Engines rate the position as balanced, and online results are close to even, with Black scoring slightly better.

The usual reply is 4. exd5. After it, 4...Qxd5 is safe, because White's own pawn on c3 rules out Nc3, so the queen cannot be attacked at once. White regains the pawn with 5. cxd4 but is left with an isolated d-pawn against Black's active pieces. A standard continuation is 5...Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Be2, with Black pressing on d4. One feature of the Danish move order is that after 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. cxd4 Nc6, White can choose 6. Be3 rather than transpose into the Göring Gambit Declined. Less common are 4. Qxd4, which recaptures immediately but places the queen in the open center, and 4. e5, a space-gaining advance that avoids the exchange on d5.