Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical

How do you reach the Classical?

The Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical arises after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.Qe2 a6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.O-O Nc6 9.e4 b5 10.e5. Along the way the game passes through Queen's Pawn Game → Queen's Gambit → Queen's Gambit Accepted → Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation → Queen's Gambit Accepted → Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation → Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation, Traditional System → Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense → Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical, Furman Variation, which is why you will see those names on the way into it. Transpositions reaching the same position by a different move order are counted as the same opening on this page.

The main line, move by move

1. 1. d4 — the position is now the Queen's Pawn Game
2. 1... d5 — the position is now the Queen's Pawn Game
3. 2. c4 — the position is now the Queen's Gambit
4. 2... dxc4 — the position is now the Queen's Gambit Accepted
5. 3. Nf3 — the position is now the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation
6. 3... Nf6 — the position is now the Queen's Gambit Accepted
7. 4. e3 — the position is now the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation
8. 4... e6 — the position is now the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation, Traditional System
9. 5. Bxc4
10. 5... c5 — the position is now the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense
11. 6. Qe2
12. 6... a6
13. 7. dxc5
14. 7... Bxc5
15. 8. O-O
16. 8... Nc6
17. 9. e4
18. 9... b5
19. 10. e5 — the position is now the Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical, Furman Variation

Related openings: Queen's Gambit Declined · Slav Defense

Data updated 9 August 2026. Game sample: Lichess July 2026, rating band 1200–2200. Opening names and lines: lichess-org/chess-openings (CC0).