Tree path 4 levels King's Pawn Game › Bishop's Opening › Boi Variation › Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- Bishop's Opening C23
- Boi Variation C23
- Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit C23 you are here
Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit
Overview
Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit is a gambit, classified under ECO code C23 within the Open Games family. As with all gambits, one side sacrifices material early — usually a pawn — in exchange for development, open lines, or initiative.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
The line arises from 5 plies — specifically the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. b4.
It is a variation of Bishop's Opening: Boi Variation, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
It branches into 2 notable variations — La Bourdonnais-Denker Gambit, McDonnell Double Gambit.
Together the deeper variations number 3 across the full subtree.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- C23
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 5
- Direct variations
- 2
- Total in subtree
- 3
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
22,359 games · White 52.5% / Draw 3.2% / Black 44.3%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Bxb4 | 15,343 | |
| Bb6 | 4,637 | |
| Bxf2+ | 1,057 | |
| Bd4 | 622 | |
| Nf6 | 143 | |
| d6 | 138 | |
| Be7 | 118 | |
| b5 | 77 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:10:36
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