Caissa Codex
A02

Bird Opening: Wagner-Zwitersch Gambit

Chess diagram: Bird Opening: Wagner-Zwitersch Gambit after 2. e4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

86,412 games: White 55.0% / Draw 3.6% / Black 41.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
55,62156K
11,16811K
7,3707,370
5,0775,077
King's Gambit Declined: Panteldakis Countergambit 2,7172,717
1,2071,207
1,1561,156
973973

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.34 Black is slightly better

Best play: 2... fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d3 exd3 5. Bxd3 Nc6 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Bird Opening: Wagner-Zwitersch Gambit (ECO A02, Flank Openings) is a gambit in the Bird Opening, reached after 1. f4 f5 2. e4 (2 moves).

In 86,412 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.0%, Black 41.3% and 3.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…fxe4, in 64% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Bird Opening: Swiss Gambit.

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How to play against the Bird Opening: Wagner-Zwitersch Gambit

2…d6 scores best for Black: 46.4%, with Black winning 44.1% and White 51.3% of 5,077 games. The most played, 2…fxe4, scores 43.6% in 56K games, and 2…Nf6 scores lowest: 42.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…fxe4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Variations (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 1…f5 2. e4, the position after Bird Opening also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Bird Opening: Wagner-Zwitersch Gambit (A02)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bird-opening-wagner-zwitersch-gambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/bird-opening-wagner-zwitersch-gambit