Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. d4/2...exd4/3. Qxd4/3...Nc6

White's responses
White's queen is forced to retreat. By far, the most popular move is '''4. Qe3''' – Paulsen's Attack – lining up the queen with Black's king.

Most of White's other possible queen retreats allow Black a quick d5 to at least equalize - though most disastrous would be '''4. Qc3''', allowing 4...Bb4 to win the queen with a pin.

The move '''4. Qd1''' allows d5 a few moves later in an even worse scenario than usual for White. Black then usually responds with 4...Nf6, deciding to focus on developing the other knight.

On occasion, White chooses '''4. Qa4 (mimicking the Scandinavian Main Line) or 4. Qc4''' (the Hall Variation).

Theory table
'''1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4'''