What is accepted and declined in chess moves?

Question

I'm very beginner in chess. I was just going through some of the opening moves like King's gambit,Budapest gambit,Queen's gambit. I encountered things like Queen's gambit Accepted or Declined kind of moves. Can somebody please explain me briefly about the logic? I know this very basic question but i googled and couldn't find appropriate answer. It might be useful for all beginners

Answer 1

A gambit is an opening where one player sacrifices a pawn (or more) to gain some other advantage. The opponent 'accepts' by taking the pawn, or 'declines' by not taking the pawn.

For example, in the Queen's gambit after 1.d4 d5 2.c4, black has at least these two options, 2...dxc4 or 2...e6. These variations are then called "Queen's Gambit Accepted" and "Queen's Gambit Declined" based on Black's choice.

Note that another common move, 2...c6, also declines the offer, but because the name "Queen's Gambit Declined" just happens to be the name of the variation 2...e6, this has a different name ("Slav Defense").

[fen ""]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 {White offers the undefended pawn on c4.} e6 {Black declines the offer.} (2...dxc4 {Black accepts the offer.})