Tree path 5 levels King's Pawn Game › Bishop's Opening › Boi Variation › Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit › La Bourdonnais-Denker Gambit
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- Bishop's Opening C23
- Boi Variation C23
- Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit C23
- La Bourdonnais-Denker Gambit C23 you are here
Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit, La Bourdonnais-Denker Gambit
Overview
Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit, La Bourdonnais-Denker Gambit is a sacrificial opening line filed under ECO C23 in the Open Games group. The defining idea is the early concession of material to seize the initiative and unbalance the position.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
Play reaches this position via 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. b4 Bxb4 4. c3, after 7 plies of opening development.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Bishop's Opening: McDonnell Gambit, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.
- ECO code
- C23
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 7
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
13,131 games · White 53.5% / Draw 3.1% / Black 43.4%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Bc5 | 6,924 | |
| Ba5 | 3,242 | |
| Be7 | 2,157 | |
| Bd6 | 712 | |
| Bf8 | 81 | |
| b5 | 5 | |
| Bxc3 | 3 | |
| d5 | 1 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:37:17
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Submissions are reviewed before publishing.