Central Countergambit

The Central Countergambit, 5...d5, has Black challenge the center immediately after White castles, leaving both the d5 and e5 pawns available for capture. Both 6. exd5, the most frequent reply, and 6. Nxe5 favor White, and engines rate the position as a large advantage for White. Compared with the related Spanish Countergambit 3...d5, Black has even less counterplay, since White's king is already safe. The line is rarely played, and White scores heavily in practice.