Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
258,243 games: White 56.0% / Draw 4.5% / Black 39.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 173,685174K | ||
| 26,41626K | ||
| 24,18124K | ||
| Lichtenhein Defense | 14,61915K | |
| 12,67213K | ||
| 1,9251,925 | ||
| 1,0811,081 | ||
| 1,0401,040 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.63 Black is slightly better
Best play: 4... Nxc3 5. dxc3 f6 6. O-O Nc6 7. b4 Ne7 8. Re1 d6 9. a4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 59% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 114K | |
| 1400–1799 | 147K | |
| 1800–2199 | 149K | |
| 2200 and up | 32K | |
| Masters, over the board | 106 |
Master games
- Novikov, M. – Afromeev, V.
- Berchtenbreiter, M. – Bareev, E.
- Pessoa, F. A. – Badolati, S.
- Gunina, V. – Kosteniuk, A.
- Mestel, A. J. – Makarichev, S.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit (ECO C27, Open Games) is a gambit in Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Nc3 (4 moves).
In 258,243 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 56.0%, Black 39.5% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nxc3, in 67% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit, Lichtenhein Defense.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit
4…Nf6 scores best for Black: 50.9%, with Black winning 48.2% and White 46.5% of 24K games. The most played, 4…Nxc3, scores 38.8% in 174K games, and 4…d5 scores lowest: 38.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nxc3.
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
Popularity by year
The Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit has gained ground since 2016: 0.0099% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0061% (its peak: 0.012% in 2021).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0061% | 2,166 |
| 2017 | 0.0059% | 3,249 |
| 2018 | 0.007% | 5,466 |
| 2019 | 0.0067% | 8,380 |
| 2020 | 0.009% | 26,231 |
| 2021 | 0.012% | 45,826 |
| 2022 | 0.011% | 39,720 |
| 2023 | 0.011% | 41,553 |
| 2024 | 0.01% | 37,073 |
| 2025 | 0.0099% | 34,330 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0096% | 10,488 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit (C27)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-boden-kieseritzky-gambit