Normal Variation

The Normal Variation, 3. Nf3, is the main line of the Queen's Gambit Accepted and is also called the Classical Variation. The knight develops and covers e5, so Black's freeing ...e5 is no longer available, while the recovery of the c4-pawn with e3 and Bxc4 is put off for a move. The engine considers the position roughly balanced, although on Lichess White scores clearly better than Black.

By a wide margin Black's most common reply is 3...Nf6. The Traditional System, 3...Nf6 4. e3 e6, leads to the classical setup in which Black prepares ...c5 once the bishop has recaptured. Within it, 5. Bxc4 a6 6. Nc3 b5 is a sideline where Black gains queenside space at once, hitting the bishop. Several other third moves have their own names: the Rosenthal Variation, 3...e6; the Gunsberg Defense, 3...c5, which strikes at d4 immediately; the Slav Gambit, 3...b5, which tries to keep the pawn; the Alekhine Defense, 3...a6, preparing ...b5; and the rare Godes Variation, 3...Nd7. The unnamed 3...Nc6 is also frequent. Among the common replies, 3...c5 and 3...a6 give Black the best practical results.