Center Game: Halasz-McDonnell Gambit, Crocodile Variation

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.f4 Bc5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c3

ECO C21

The Center Game: Halasz-McDonnell Gambit, Crocodile Variation is a chess opening line in the Center Game complex, reached after 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.f4 Bc5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c3.

It is catalogued under code C21 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO).

The defining move c3 is chosen by White on move 5.

Study this line with a grandmaster

This position is covered in the Danish Gambit course: a GM-authored repertoire you study move by move, then practice against a human-like AI opponent.

Every chess term used here is defined in the chess terms glossary. Browse all opening courses or the full ECO code index.